Two young children, a nine-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy, tragically lost their lives in a boating accident after their vessel collided with a channel marker in the waters off Berkeley Township, New Jersey. The incident occurred on Saturday night when the children were thrown into the water from a 30-foot Tidewater Custom 280 boat that struck an Intercoastal Waterway channel marker.
The boat’s operator, Stephen Schneider, aged 63, and another passenger, Laurie Schneider, aged 64, found the children unresponsive in the water following the collision. Reports suggest that the couple on the boat were the grandparents of the deceased children, as confirmed by ABC7 and sources from Jersey Shore Online. Prior to boarding the boat, the group had been at MJ’s Restaurant Bar and Grill.
The children were rushed to the hospital after the tragic incident, where medical officials later pronounced them dead. The New Jersey State Police released a statement detailing the events of the accident, mentioning that the investigation is ongoing and no further information is available at this time.
