Boater slammed into another vessel near Haulover and then left, FWC says

Crime admin July 27, 2026 0 Comments

Boater slammed into another vessel near Haulover and then left, FWC says

A Georgia man slammed his boat into another vessel in the Intracoastal Waterway early Saturday morning near the Haulover sandbar and then left without helping or calling authorities, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two people on the other boat, including a child, were seriously injured, police said.

Daniel Lawson, 42, was operating a 38-foot Donzi around 1:15 a.m., heading south in the Intracoastal at about 55-mph, when he crashed into a 20-foot Angler that was traveling north, according to the FWC’s report. The speed limit in the channel is 30 mph, the report states.

The operator of the Angler, Jeffrey Dorsett, tried to get Lawson’s attention with a horn and spotlight before the collision, according to the FWC.

Two of the six people on Lawson’s boat had minor injuries. A child on the Angler suffered a hairline skull fracture, and a woman sustained broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a lacerated spleen, according to the FWC report.

After crashing into the Angler, Lawson continued traveling south, eventually anchoring on the sandbar, the report states. Instead of calling the police, he called a boat towing company to have the Donzi removed from the water before investigators could examine it, according to the report.

Lawson was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on felony reckless boating causing serious injury, leaving the scene of a boating accident and evidence tampering. A judge Monday set his bond at $45,000, and Lawson cannot operate a boat while the case is pending.

Lawson’s arrest report lists his permanent address in Atlanta, Georgia, but states he also has a residence on Bay Drive in Miami Beach.

Miami Herald staff writer Grethel Aguila contributed to this report.