April 19, 2024
Shaw Local
NewsSubscribePrep SportseNewspaperChicago BearsNewsletterThe SceneObituariesEvent Calendar

Boat crash into McHenry dock, pontoon boat results in no injuries

By Emily K. Coleman

A motorized boat is seen from an aerial view atop a docked pontoon on Friday, July 16, 2021, along the Fox River in McHenry. The boat crashed into the dock in the backyard of homeowners Phil and Pam Petrucci shortly after midnight on Friday morning. (Provided Photo)

No one was injured when a boat crashed through a dock and onto a docked pontooned boat about midnight Friday on the Fox River outside McHenry, a McHenry County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said.

The owners of the pontoon and the dock, Phil and Pam Petrucci, were “amazingly” not awoken by the crash, but a neighbor alerted them, Pam Petrucci said in an interview.

“It’s definitely a unique situation,” she said. “We’ve definitely got a lot of [gawkers]. If I could charge them each for the photos, I’d be able to afford a new boat.”

The boat that crashed into theirs ended up with its bow in the air. One side of their pontoon is smashed between the poles of the dock and the other boat, which makes Pam Petrucci think it’s probably not salvable, especially in light of the pontoon boat’s age.

Image 1 of 5
Homeowner Pam Petrucci, of McHenry, shows the damage to her dock and pontoon on Friday, July 16, 2021 in McHenry. Petrucci said a boat crashed into her dock, launching it atop her pontoon shortly after midnight Friday. Petrucci said she hopes the crash will be cleared up before the traffic on the river picks up over the weekend for fear of excessive wakes sinking her boat.

Boating accident on the Fox River in McHenry Homeowner Pam Petrucci, of McHenry, shows the damage to her dock and pontoon on Friday, July 16, 2021 in McHenry. Petrucci said a boat crashed into her dock, launching it atop her pontoon shortly after midnight Friday. Petrucci said she hopes the crash will be cleared up before the traffic on the river picks up over the weekend for fear of excessive wakes sinking her boat. (Matthew Apgar/Matthew Apgar)

Pam Petrucci said Friday her hope at that point was that the other boat can be removed from theirs before boat traffic picked up over the weekend. She said the waves can get bad with boats flying by and with gawkers wheeling around for another look, she was concerned it could be another accident waiting to happen.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division responded to the crash about 12:04 a.m. Friday in the 300 block of north Mineral Springs Road in McHenry, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Emily Matusek said in an email.

Nighttime conditions are thought to have played a role in the crash, Matusek said, and it is not currently known if alcohol was an additional factor.

The damage extended to a lift canopy in addition to the boat and dock, Matusek said.

Pam Petrucci said she’s just grateful no one was injured.