Boaters warned of collision risk after two fatal crashes involving channel markers in Barnegat Bay

LONG BEACH ISLAND, New Jersey (WABC) -- Within a week, two separate boats crashed into channel markers in the same body of water in New Jersey. The most recent one, near Toms River, killed a man on Saturday night.

Ocean County sheriff's officers say that's like driving your car into a telephone pole. And even if you're only going 25 miles an hour, with no seat belt and no air bag, you can get seriously hurt.

Officers took Eyewitness News out onto the water to see the marker that was struck over the weekend. Once seen up close, it's clear why this crash ended in tragedy.

The intracoastal waterway channel marker is a solid steel pole anchored into the bedrock of Barnegat Bay. Maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, the markers are like the double yellow line on a road, indicating to boaters the lane they need to stay in.

Its ladder was mangled after the collision, killing a 26-year-old man and injuring three others.

"It looks like the vessel came across the front side or also the wrong side of the intercoastal. They should have been more out to the right, out in the middle of the channel," said Corp. James Scott of the Ocean County Sheriff's Department.

New Jersey State Police are leading the investigation.

Scott said there is a flashing red light at night on top of the marker, which was working over the weekend.

"Some of them are lit with a light, some are not. Maybe a lot of people are using their GPS and chart plotter, but they're not 100% accurate," Scott said.

The fatal crash is the second in Ocean County in about a week.

On July 19, two young children were killed after the boat they were in struck a channel marker about 50 miles from this one by Long Beach Island. In that incident, the lights on the marker were also working. Both crashes happened at night.

State police are reminding boaters that there are a lot of distractions in the waters -- even lights from houses in the distance can people at night.

While the causes of the two collisions are still under investigation, officials say many accidents have two common themes -- speed and inebriation. They say these types of crashes are happening more often.

"Decrease your speed. There's no reason to go that fast when your perception has changed because the sun has gone down," said Karen Fahy of the New Jersey State Police. "Alcohol slows your reaction time, impairs judgement."