Indian Rocks Beach Man Dies in Nighttime Boating Accident

A 40-year-old Indian Rocks Beach man is dead after the personal watercraft he was riding on Saturday night crashed just north of the Belleair Causeway, in the intracoastal waterway.

Victor Vasquez was a passenger on a personal watercraft operated by 34-year-old Robert Turnbull of Seminole at about 8:30 p.m., when the vessel struck an object in the water, investigators said.

Both men were thrown from the watercraft.

Turnbull, who suffered minor injuries, told investigators that he pulled Vasquez from the water, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Turnbull said that Vasquez was unconscious. He was taken to a residence at 2507 Bay Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach, where CPR was performed, investigators said. Turnbull was unable to revive him.

Investigators are now trying to find out what the personal watercraft hit when it crashed; they also want to confirm the exact time of the accident.

There is damage to the right side of the watercraft. Both men had been wearing lifejackets. Turnbull agreed to have a "blood draw" to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

It is illegal in Florida to operate a personal watercraft a half-hour after sunset.