Police ID Man Killed In Barnegat Bay Boat Crash

By Patricia A. Miller and Karen Wall, Patch Staff

Barnegat Light, NJ — A Burlington County man died and a second person was treated for minor injuries after a boat collision on Barnegat Bay Sunday afternoon, state police confirmed.

Chan-Hee Kang, 26, of Hainesport, died Sunday as a result of the collision, New Jersey State Police Lt. Brian Polite said.

Polite said Chan-Hee was at the controls of a 16-foot Carolina skiff that collided with a 36-foot speedboat about 2:45 p.m. in Oyster Creek Channel, one of the main navigational channels in Barnegat Bay. Chan-Hee and two passengers on the skiff were thrown into the water as a result of the collision, Polite said.

Four people aboard the speedboat were not injured, he said. Information on the ages or genders of the passengers on Chan-Hee's boat and on the speedboat was not available Sunday evening, he said.

Initial reports on the crash said three boats were involved, but Polite said it was just two. Staff from U.S. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light rescued Chan-Hee and his passengers from the water, and the injured person and Chan-Hee were taken to Southern Ocean County Medical Center in Manahawkin, where Chan-Hee was pronounced dead. His passenger was treated for minor injuries and released, Polite said.

Barnegat Bay is a popular spot with boaters, and boat traffic can be very heavy, especially on summer weekends. Oyster Creek Channel, as one of the main navigational channels in Barnegat Bay, sees a great deal of traffic. The channel flows to Barnegat Inlet, between the southern tip of Island Beach State Park and the northern tip of Long Beach Island, around the southern edge of the Sedge Islands behind Island Beach State Park and westward across Barnegat Bay toward the mouth of Oyster Creek in Lacey Township.

Boaters who dock their boats on the west side of the bay, from Barnegat to the Toms River area, traverse the channel on their way to and from the Atlantic Ocean.

Oyster Creek Channel also is popular with fishermen; it is often a hot spot for summer flounder and striped bass, which hang out in its depths — the water is anywhere from 4 to 20 feet deep in the area, and game fish will stay in the deeper spots waiting for prey dragged by strong currents to cross their path. Anglers target those fish — and often are warned to be alert and stay out of the channel while fishing in that area because of the boat traffic.

Polite said the investigation into the crash was in its early stages and how the crash occurred was not yet known. More information would be released when it is available, he said Sunday night.

Patch will update this story when more information is available.