ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (WNCT) — It was a scary moment for those who witnessed a boat run ashore Saturday in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
“It was a bizarre moment,” said Emily Carr, who was visiting Atlantic Beach and captured the moment on video with her cellphone.
“Shouldn’t they turn?” is what Carr said while recording the video and before the boat ran aground. “Children … hey.”
“We couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” said Elaine Nichols, who was also visiting Atlantic Beach. “Holy crap, yeah, it’s not stopping.”
The boat came straight to shore.
“The boat just kept coming and it was coming fast,” Nichols said. “As it got closer and closer, it was definitely nerve-wracking.”
“We were out on the balcony screaming at the people on the beach to move,” Carr said.
Atlantic Beach police say it happened around 7 p.m. Saturday near a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel pier.
“Something I’ve never seen,” Carr said. “I’m 41 and grew up on the beach and been around boats my entire life and never seen anything like it. The last thing you expect to happen is a 48-foot sport fishing boat barreling towards the shore.”
Police said at least seven people were on the boat. Two were taken to the hospital. They were expected to be OK. An investigation into the cause of the crash continued Sunday by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
“Thankfully there were no people in the water. That would have been catastrophic,” Carr said.