One woman died and several other boaters were injured after two vessels collided on the Intracoastal Waterway near Wolf Bay in Orange Beach on the evening of July 18, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Kristin Delaney, 46, of Mobile, was critically injured in the crash and later died at South Baldwin Hospital. ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division has taken the lead on the investigation.
ALEA said the collision happened around 8:10 p.m. Saturday between a 27-foot 2024 Albury Brothers boat and a 23-foot 2013 Key West boat, with eight people aboard each vessel for 16 people total. Kristin Delaney and Brooks Delaney, 51, of Fairhope, were both passengers on the Albury Brothers boat, which was operated by Drew Delaney, 49, of Mobile. Drew Delaney was not injured in the crash.
Brooks Delaney was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for treatment. The Key West boat’s operator, Cameron Neil, 32, of Houma, Louisiana, was also injured and taken to Sacred Heart, along with passengers Talyn Faulkner, 25, of Raceland, Louisiana; John Lyle, 28, of Houma; and Rayford Reeves, 34, of Schiever, Louisiana.
In total, nine patients were transported to area hospitals by Orange Beach Fire Rescue, Gulf Shores Fire Rescue, MedStar Ambulance and a medical helicopter. Orange Beach police officers assisted by helping locate the injured, securing the scene and establishing a landing zone for the helicopter. Everyone who was not injured, along with both boats, was returned to the marina at The Wharf.
The crash happened as the Blue Marlin Grand Championship fishing tournament was wrapping up nearby that evening, and tournament scoring records show Brooks Delaney had competed as an angler in the event. It was not confirmed whether the vessels involved in the crash were connected to the tournament. ALEA has not released a cause for the collision, and its Marine Patrol Division continues to investigate.