Boaters tossed from boat in Wando River accident

Four boaters were rescued after their bass boat hit a navigational aid and they were tossed into the Wando River near Drum Island early Friday morning, officials said.

One of the boaters swam to shore, where the boat ended up, and used the vessel’s marine radio to call for help, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Three of them swam to a channel marker and held on to wait for assistance.

The Coast Guard responded to ther distress call at about 12:30 a.m. and took them to the Remley’s Point public boat landing.

The boaters were identified as McGuire Keenan, 25, of Columbia; Andrew Yarborough, 25, of Walterboro; Elise Mayberry, 19, of Walterboro; and Wayne Taylor, 27, of Mount Pleasant.

The boaters said they were traveling in a 21-foot bass boat when it struck an unknown object near the Remley’s Point channel marker, and all four of them were ejected. None of them were wearing life jackets. The bass boat stopped on shore on Drum Island, near Charleston, several feet past the waterline.

A spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources said the boat hit a navigational aid, which was fine after the accident.

Three of the boaters declined medical treatment. EMTs treated the fourth person, who had several cuts on his foot, and released him on scene.