Texas A&M chemical engineering sophomore Sarah Flanagan was killed in a boating accident June 28 on Choctawhatchee Bay in Okaloosa County, Fl.
Northwest Florida Daily News reported that the incident was the first fatal boating accident in the county and involved a 30-foot Grady-White boat and Flanagan’s personal watercraft, or PWC. Bekah Nelson, public information director for the northwest region of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commision said the cause of the collision is unknown and the case is still under investigation.
“The two boats were operating in Choctawhatchee Bay and they collided just North of the Destin Army Recreation Center,” Nelson said. “The PWC driven by Miss Flanagan was headed Eastbound near the same location as the other vessel. She was ejected from her PWC and another individual who was in a group of PWCs with them was able to go over and help Miss Flanagan onto that person’s jet ski and transport her to shore.”
From there Flanagan was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased.
Any information on the incident should be reported to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
At time of press, Flanagan is the third Texas A&M student death this summer. The other two deaths were marketing senior Caroline Killian who died in an automobile accident on June 26, and ocean engineering senior Brian Bullock who died in a two-vehicle crash and car fire on July 4.
