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1 dead, 4 injured in boating accident
By David Goodwin
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A tragic and frightening boat collision Saturday night left one man dead, four people injured and a Montgomery man facing charges of homicide by vessel and boating under the influence. If another victim who is seriously injured dies, 22-year-old Patrick Cumbie will face a second charge of homicide by vehicle.
According to Alabama Marine Police Sgt. Gary Buchanan, 12 people were cruising home from Sinclair’s Kowaliga on a pontoon boat Saturday night when they decided to stop for a swim. As they swam around the boat’s stern in the Little Kowaliga Creek area near Real Island, Cumbie drove his Legacy runabout out of Old Harmony Slough, bearing east toward Kowaliga, Buchanan said.
Cumbie ” who was charged at the scene with boating under the influence ” ran over several of the swimmers before slamming into the pontoon boat in the right rear area. He was twice given a breath test ” at the accident scene and again at Sinclair’s ” to establish his blood-alcohol level, Buchanan said.
One of the swimmers, 62-year-old Edwin Donald Tatum of Prattville, was pronounced dead at Tallassee Community Hospital. The four who were injured were transported to hospitals in Tallassee and Montgomery. Tatum’s sister-in-law, Sue Tatum, was still listed in critical condition Tuesday.
“It was a horrific event for everyone involved,” Buchanan said. “In a boating accident you have the added dangers and complications presented by the lake itself. You can't just drive an ambulance out onto the water to get to the injured.”
The injured were carried on two pontoon boats ” the one involved in the crash and “a third boat that stopped to help” ” back to Sinclair’s, where “it was a chaotic scene,” Buchanan said.
“They were in open water as far as I know,” said Buchanan, who arrived after the collision and began rescue operations. “They were not at a dock.”
Officers from the Eclectic Police Department, deputies from the Elmore County Sheriff's Department and members of the Kowaliga Volunteer Fire Department responded to assist. Eclectic Assistant Fire Chief Adam Graham said Eclectic’s EMS unit took Tatum to Community Hospital.
Cumbie had three passengers in his boat, Buchanan said, none of who were injured. He declined to release a number of details ” including Cumbie’s rate of speed and both boats use of navigation lights ” because they are “part of the investigation,” he said.
Tatum was the uncle of former Prattville High School and University of Alabama football player Kyle Tatum, Buchanan said.
Cumbie's bond was set at Edwin $15,000 for Tatum’s death and $1,000 for allegedly driving the boat under the influence. District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Jenny Hamilton said Tuesday that Sue Tatum “was still alive when we heard last.”
Cumbie was released on bond Monday, she added.
