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- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 29 May 2008.
HAMILTON, JOSEPH LEE, JR. - age 42 was born in LaGrange, Il on January 26, 1966. Joe and " the love of his life " Kathleen O'Neill were both killed in a boating accident on May 24, 2008 on Lake St. Clair. He is survived by his daughter Lydia Marie Hamilton, age 6. Joe moved to Orchard Lake, Michigan at the age of 2. He was raised in Milford, Michigan and graduated from Lakeland High School in 1984. He owned and operated Hamilton Concrete Construction for the past 16 years. To know him was to love him. His charisma and tenderness gained him many friends from all walks of life and across many states. Beloved son of Shirley and stepson of Glen Bibbins of Dandridge, TN and cherished son of Joseph and Stepson of Millicent Hamilton of Loudon, TN; brother of Pamela (Alec) Savedes of Howell, MI; stepbrother of Donna Scheidel (Brion) of Canton, MI; and Jeffrey Bibbins of Waxhaw, N. Carolina; half brother of Mark Hamilton of Loudon, TN. Joe leaves behind nieces Alyx Rae Savedes and Alaina Gail Scheidel and nephew Anthony Joseph Savedes, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Joe is blessed with many friends who deeply mourn his loss. Visitation Friday, May 30, 2008 1-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Keehn Funeral Home, Brighton, MI 810-229-9871. Funeral service Saturday May 31, 2008, 10 a.m. Brighton Church of the Nazarene, 7679 Brighton Rd., Brighton with Rev. Ben D. Walls officiating. Final visitation at the church begins at 9 a.m. Burial later at Oakland Hills Cemetery, Novi. Memorial contributions in Joe's name are requested to Pamela Savedes for the future care of Lydia Marie Hamilton. www.keehnfuneralhome.com
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Detroit News, 26 May 2008.
Lake St. Clair boat crash kills three
Tragedy comes on the heels of report showing state's boating fatalities reached a five-year high.
Robert Snell and Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News
HARRISON TOWNSHIP -- The season's first fatal boating accident on Lake St. Clair left three people dead and two others injured, and marred a holiday weekend that appeared perfect for pleasure cruising.
The crash comes amid a new report that shows Michigan boating deaths reached a five-year high last season, when 35 boaters died, according to the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents. Last year on Lake St. Clair, five people died in water-related accidents.
"We were hoping for that being an oddity and something we wouldn't see again," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said. "It's a very tragic way to start off the boating season."
Hackel said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. It's unknown if alcohol was a factor in the collision, he said.
The crash happened around 11 p.m. Saturday after a day filled with sun and blue skies, when a 38-foot power boat named Rum Runner carrying five passengers plowed into a 120-foot barge docked in Lake St. Clair's Belvidere Bay. The boat operator, Brian James Lepp, 38, of Troy may not have seen the barge near the MacRay Harbor, even though it had lights, Hackel said.
The victims were identified as Joseph Lee Hamilton, 42, of Bloomfield Hills; Sawsan Bell, 36, of Pontiac; and Kathleen O'Neill, 39, of Harrison Township. Lepp and 39-year-old passenger Robert William Diegel of Macomb Township remain at area hospitals in stable condition. They suffered severe injuries but are expected to survive, Hackel said.
Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the hospital after multiple attempts by Sheriff's deputies and fire rescue to revive them, Hackel said. A third died Sunday.
Steve Remias, president of MacRay Harbor, said he received a call about the Belvidere Bay accident late Saturday and went to the scene.
The crash sent ripples throughout the close-knit boating community, he said.
"This is first time I can recall something of this nature, tragically, this early in the season," Remias said.
Bell had been dating Lepp, the boat owner, for about three years and joined the others for a holiday cruise, her brother said.
A divorced mother of two sons, ages 7 and 11, Bell managed a dental office in Troy.
"She was just a very loving mother, very caring, a very typical hardcore soccer mom," said her brother, Rudy Hajji, 39.
Bell was Chaldean and moved with her family to the United States when she was an infant. She initially survived the crash and complained of an upset stomach, which relatives were told stemmed from internal bleeding.
The crash left Bell's family with many questions.
"Was the boat going too fast? Or should the barge have been lit so people could have been more aware of it?" her brother asked.
Public records show Lepp owns Motor City Fence, a commercial and industrial fence company based in Troy.
Authorities received a radio distress call late Saturday from the boat operator, saying he hit a large object. From the description of his location, they determined it was a barge used for dredging that was anchored about a half-mile off shore, Hackel said.
"Those things had been out there all spring and winter," Hackel said. "Somehow, he didn't see it. ... The barge certainly wasn't moving."
The crash, which is still under investigation by Macomb County Sheriff's Marine Division deputies and detectives, adds a grim statistic to news that boating deaths were at a five-year high last year.
The report by the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents said the 35 boating deaths was an increase from 29 in 2006, but down from the 38 reported deaths in 2002. The report also found that boating accidents dropped slightly to 193 last year from 198 in 2006. Fewer people were injured, 105 compared with 115.
Collisions between vessels were the most common cause of boating accidents, according to the report. Michigan had 54 reported collisions last year, followed by 27 incidents of boaters falling overboard and 14 of boats capsizing.
While Macomb investigators stress that it remains unclear if alcohol was a factor in the Saturday crash, alcohol use remains a problem on the water, with 28 alcohol-related accidents last year, the association said.
The report also said that wearing life jackets is one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of deaths: Just 10 boaters who died last year were known to be wearing them.
"Whenever people consume alcohol and operate a boat, bad things usually happen," association spokesman Gary Mitchell said in a statement.
"Failing to wear life jackets and alcohol consumption are the biggest problems facing boaters in the state."
Fatal accidents on Lake St. Clair are relatively rare. In 2006, there was one fatality, but there were no water-related deaths on the lake in 2005, Hackel said.
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1966 - 2008 (42 years)