Names of 3 injured in boat explosion released, no charges expected

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina Wildlife officers do not expect any charges after a boat explosion sent three people to the hospital Friday.

Lt. Sam Craft with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission released the names of the three people involved in the accident.

Craft said the boat owner and operator is David Martin Jr., 40 and the passenger on the boat Friday was Jonathan Allison Bickett, 35. He said Sea Tow Employee Kendrick Schwarz, 24, was also injured after the boat caught fire around 4 p.m. Friday. Schwarz is also a volunteer firefighter at the Southport Fire Department.

When Ocean Isle Fishing Center Charter Boat Captain Jeff Williamson walked onto the dock Friday afternoon, he knew something was wrong.

“I noticed the sheen of gas on the water,” Williamson said.

He said the gas was coming from a boat at the dock. Lt. Craft said it was Martin’s.

“He was pumping the gas instead of in the fuel tank, he was pumping it into a rod holder which happens more often than what you know,” Williamson said.

Williamson said the owner told him he pumped 28 gallons of gas.

“We told him to cut the bilge pump off and not to crank the boat,” Williamson said.

Williamson said he told Martin to call Sea Tow.

“It would be better if he had the boat towed instead of trying to crank the engine which might cause a spark and do the inevitable,” Williamson said.

Williamson said while preparing to tow the boat, someone pulled a cable to stop try to stop the bilge pump.

“The boat owner decided to disengage the float switch, so while they were towing the boat, it would not keep pumping fuel into the water,” Williamson said.

Williamson said that caused the spark he had just warned them about.

“I was sitting with the store manager,” Williamson said. “We were talking about it and as soon as the explosion happened, we were able to kill the gas pumps.”

Lt. Craft said Martin, his passenger Bickett and Schwarz were all taken to the hospital. Williamson said the dock got lucky.

“The wind blew the boat away from the dock, so pretty minor damage to the dock,” Williamson said.

Williamson said he spoke with a family friend about how Martin is doing.

“The boat owner I understand is making some recovery,” Williamson said. “He’s got a long way to go, but he is making some recovery.”

Martin is still at the UNC Burn Center in Chapel Hill. A spokesman said, as of 4:00 p.m. today, Martin is listed in good condition.

Craft said they will present on the information about the fire to the District Attorney. He said the boat was not being operated when the fire happened and the owner realized the mistake removing the cable. He said they do not expect the DA to charge anyone.