Two people hurt, sailboat sunk after Hingham boat crash

HINGHAM - Two people were seriously hurt and rushed to hospitals, after a dramatic boat crash in Hingham Bay, Hingham, first responders said.

Sailboat sunk in crash

A sailboat sank into the water after, investigators said, a speedboat crashed into it, leaving two people hurt.

The crash rocked lifelong boaters like Bill Norton, who could see the mast of the sailboat ominously sticking up from his house across the bay.

"I was hoping nobody got hurt. You can replace a boat, but the people getting hurt - that's a different story," said Norton. "Sailboat has the right of way over a powerboat, every time."

'Not a common occurrence'

Water Taxi Captain Ray Suarez saw the aftermath as he went back and forth shuttling passengers all day. He's been on the water most of his life and said  the site was unusual.

"We saw the mast just sticking out of the water. There was a lot of state police and salvage boats trying to figure out what to do with it," said Captain Suarez. "Sailboats generally go very slow, and powerboats generally go very fast. So, somebody obviously wasn't paying attention because they hit the boat so hard that they sank it, and that's not a common occurrence."

Hingham and Weymouth first responders, and Massachusetts Environmental Police rushed to the rescue after the boat crash. First responders say a towboat will work to recover the submerged sailboat because it's a danger to other boats navigating the bay.

"Make sure you have life preservers for everyone on board, you go at a safe pace, so you stay safe and you keep the people around you safe as well," said Captain Suarez.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police are investigating the incident.