A magical night for the upper Bay boating community ended with a scary accident on Saturday, Dec. 6. It was just before 11 p.m. when reports came in for a boat crash with ejection and injuries in the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal. It came hours after a beloved lighted boat parade.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) responded to the C&D Canal near Chestnut Springs Road in Chesapeake City, where a 30-foot center-console boat had struck a fixed marker. There were three men injured on board. The fourth occupant, a 48-year-old woman, was ejected from the boat and later found on the shore. She was flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore by helicopter in serious condition. The three men, ages 53, 46, and 52, were taken to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, to be treated.
There was a large response to the canal by investigators and emergency crews. Volunteer Fire Company #1 of Chesapeake City responded with their fireboat along with Cecilton and Delaware City marine teams. NRP and the U.S. Coast Guard were on scene as well, and a Maryland State Police helicopter transported the badly injured woman…