9-year-old Howell boy dies after falling from boat, being hit by propeller

OCEAN CITY, Maryland (WABC) -- A 9-year-old boy from New Jersey died Wednesday when he fell out of a boat and was struck by the propeller in Ocean City, Maryland.

Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson identified the boy as Kaden Frederick, of Howell, New Jersey.

Thomson says 17 people were on the rented pontoon boat in Sinepuxent Bay near Ocean City on Wednesday afternoon, and Frederick was reportedly one of four people sitting with their legs dangling from the front of the boat as it moved. That is illegal in Maryland.

Frederick apparently fell, and the operator couldn't stop in time. The propeller hit the boy, and emergency crews were unable to resuscitate him.

Thomson says Frederick was the 11th person killed while boating this year in Maryland, one of three this week.

(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report)