“The red car boat that stole Christmas,” is what the host of the annual Merritt Island Christmas Boat Parade called last year’s events, which it says will now go down in history.
And it’s because of that incident – a crash involving a novelty boat that looked like a red sports car – that Blue Marlin Real Estate said it will not be hosting the event this year.
“These reckless acts by a few have effected many, more than we could have imagined,” a post on the boat parade’s Facebook page says.
“As a result, there are not one, but several related legal matters that remain unsolved …
MORE: Novelty sports car boat collision leaves 3 injured at Merritt Island Boat Parade
It’s unclear if the parade will still happen. WESH 2 has reached out for details. The Facebook post says, “we’re confident that the parade will continue in some capacity.”
The novelty boat was spinning around in the canal during the annual Christmas boat parade.
“Just started having fun, doing donuts. Not like wave-wise crazy, but literally just donuts in circles.”
The driver explains in bodycam video during police response to the crash.
A witness, Terry Thorn, said he felt something was going to go wrong.
“And he was swerving very quickly around the pilings,” Thorn said.
Shortly after, witnesses said the driver of the jetcar boat lost control and went flying into another boat.
Three people were injured in the crash.
In the body camera video, a Fish and Wildlife officer can be seen checking out the damage.
The driver said he had not been drinking and was working to start a rental business for that boat.
He told the officer he didn’t see the other boat coming.
“They didn’t have any lights on so unfortunately I didn’t see them and went right into them,” the driver said.
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