Maritime News

Two men are dead after an accident with a barge tow that occurred on Chickamauga Lake near Chattanooga, Tennessee.            

The crash occurred on Saturday, June 19.  Forty-two-year-old Richard Wilkey, his 37-year-old nephew David Wilkey, and his friend 45-year-old Tim Stidle were on a 15-foot fishing boat operating a trotline for cat fish. They did not move out of the way when a commercial tugboat pushing nine barges down the Tennessee River bore down on their vessel.

 
The collision caused the fishing boat to sink. Richard Wilkey and Stidle went overboard. Stidle’s body was found near the wreckage on Saturday afternoon. Wilkey’s body was recovered on Monday. David Wilkey was rescued and survived without injury.

 
The tugboat, which is owned by Serodino, Inc, of Chattanooga, did not stop after the accident. Officials do not know if the tug operator was aware of the collision.

 
The accident is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. They are wondering if there was a problem with the fishing boat that prevented it from getting out of the way before the vessels collided.

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