Bay Area youth sports team members injured in airboat crash

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – Members of a Bay Area youth football and cheer team and their parents were among those injured last week when two airboats collided during a tour of the Florida Everglades, according to media reports and officials.

The 8 years old-and-under team was in the Sunshine State for the American Youth Football & Cheer National Championships, Pittsburg-based MEGA Football and Cheer said in a Facebook post. Everyone was in stable condition as of Saturday morning.

“However, a couple of our cherished parents face a road to recovery,” the post stated. “We’re grateful for the strength and resilience of our MEGA community during this challenging time.”

The crash happened about 3:15 p.m. Friday afternoon in Ochopee. Arielle Callender, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a statement that a 24-foot Alumitech airboat with 13 passengers and one operator crashed head-on into a similar 25-foot airboat with 20 passengers and one operator. The agency is investigating the crash.

The crash hospitalized 16 people and injured 24 people, total, Callender said.

Three or four Bay Area residents were still hospitalized as of Monday, according to ABC7 News.

The tour operator, Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours, is cooperating with the probe.

“Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours regrets that a collision involving two airboats occurred this afternoon,” the company said in a statement Saturday. “All of us at Wooten’s offer our sincere sympathies to everyone involved, and wish them a speedy recovery.”