Annapolis Man Who Died in Whitehall Creek Boat Crash Identified

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Authorities have released the name of an Annapolis man who died Sunday when his boat crashed into a rock jetty on Whitehall Creek.

Maryland Natural Resources Police said Monday morning that Paul Christopher Dettor, 49, died after he was thrown from a 20-foot Boston Whaler when the boat struck the jetty at the entrance to Whitehall Creek. Dettor was thrown onto the rocks about 11 p.m. Sunday.

Dettor was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to Baltimore Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead. He is Maryland’s eighth boating fatality of 2016, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police.

Two other men on the boat were taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.

Dettor’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s office, where an autopsy will be performed. The incident remains under investigation.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Maryland-National Capital Region received a report from Anne Arundel County Fire dispatch about 10:45 p.m. Sunday that a woman in her backyard heard people screaming for help in the nearby creek.

A 29-foot boat and crew from Coast Guard Station Annapolis was launched to the accident scene. Crews from Anne Arundel County Fire, Maryland Natural Resources Police and Maryland State Police also launched.

The Coast Guard crew saw Dettor on a jetty but could not get to him because of the shallow water. Two crew members boarded a good Samaritan’s boat with shallow water capability and climbed out to the unconscious man to provide first aid.

The two other patients -- a 49-year-old man and a 48-year-old man -- were taken by paramedics to Anne Arundel Medical Center with minor injuries.

»Photos of fatal boating accident courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard