A 14-foot boat slammed into a pier at Weaver's Cove near the old Shell station late Saturday night, throwing two occupants into the Taunton River and triggering a multi-agency rescue that stretched across the Fall River-Somerset border. Both victims suffered serious head and orthopedic injuries and were eventually transported to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, according to fire officials.
The Somerset Fire Department first got word of the crash after a report that the vessel had struck the pier and was taking on water, according to Fall River Reporter. Somerset Marine 1 launched into the water while Ladder 1 set up a land-based command post at the Veterans Memorial Bridge, and Rescue 2 initially staged at the base of the bridge before relocating to Bicentennial Park. Weaver's Cove itself sits on the eastern bank of the Taunton River near the Somerset border, a 68.5-acre former bulk fuel distribution site that still retains legacy pier structures and mooring supports jutting into the river, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
Crews From Both Sides of the River Converge
Fall River's own response moved in parallel, with Fall River Marine 1 heading out by water and Car 2 establishing a separate land-based command, per the same Fall River Reporter account. Medical rescue and squad units staged at Bicentennial Park, which the report notes has a paved public boat ramp and 47 trailer parking spaces that make it a go-to spot for exactly this kind of emergency staging along the Taunton River. Somerset Marine 1 and Fall River Marine 1 ultimately located both victims in the water together and brought them back to Bicentennial Park, where they were handed off for transport.
Both patients were taken to Rhode Island Hospital rather than a local emergency room, consistent with the region's trauma-care setup. Rhode Island Hospital is the only Level 1 Trauma Center serving both Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts communities including Fall River, according to Brown University Health, meaning it's staffed around the clock with specialized trauma surgeons and emergency surgical teams for the most severe cases.
State Police Take Over the Investigation
Fall River Police said Massachusetts State Police is now handling the investigation into what caused the collision, per the original report. That division of labor tracks with state law: under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 90B, Sections 11 and 12, state police and Massachusetts Environmental Police officers share full statutory authority to enforce boating rules and investigate crashes on the Commonwealth's waters, according to the Massachusetts Harbormasters Association. Separately, state law also requires operators involved in collisions causing serious injury or death to notify Massachusetts Environmental Police and file a written accident report within 48 hours.
No details have been released yet about what caused the 14-foot boat to hit the pier, including questions around speed, lighting, or whether any mechanical issue played a role. The identities of the two injured occupants and their current medical status also have not been made public.
Somerset Fire Issues a Nighttime Safety Reminder
In the wake of the crash, the Somerset Fire Department issued a boater safety reminder urging operators to know their surroundings, operate at a safe speed, wear a properly fitted life jacket, and account for the added risks of nighttime boating. The warning lines up with federal guidance: U.S. Coast Guard safety analysis has found that boating after dark significantly raises collision risk by hiding unlit shorelines, fixed piers, and channel markers, which is why operators are expected to slow down enough to stop safely given visibility conditions, per the U.S. Coast Guard.
The stretch of the Taunton River where Weaver's Cove meets Mount Hope Bay is a working commercial waterway only about a quarter-mile wide, marked by tidal currents, narrow channels, and strong afternoon southwest winds, conditions that can complicate small-craft navigation even before darkness sets in. The Coast Guard's most recent recreational boating statistics report found operator inattention, improper lookout, inexperience, excessive speed, and machinery failure to be the top contributing factors in boating accidents nationwide, with alcohol cited as the leading factor in fatal crashes.
This isn't the first serious boating emergency on this stretch of river. In June 2024, a Fall River man died and his brother was rescued after their fishing boat sank nearby when its propeller became entangled in a rope.
