Drunk Boater Rams Famed USS Midway, Arrested For Hit-and-Run

July 22nd, 2025

Screengrab from Facebook video posted by Sandiegohumor

A 65-foot pleasure boat crashed into the side of the USS Midway Museum ship in San Diego Bay on Friday afternoon, July 18, 2025.

Authorities said the operator fled after the collision but was later found and arrested. No injuries were reported, but the historic aircraft carrier suffered an estimated $100,000 in damage.

The Port of San Diego Harbor Police said they received a call at around 11:54 a.m. about a boat sailing erratically in the harbor. The vessel had already left the scene by the time officers reached the USS Midway, which is permanently docked as a museum near the Embarcadero.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and identified the boat as Offshore Lifestyle, a 65-foot cabin cruiser. In the video, the vessel is seen slowly crashing head-on into the port side hull of the Midway before backing away and fleeing the area.

The boat was later located near the Coronado Ferry Landing. Officers found seven people onboard. The operator was identified as 40-year-old Frank D’Anna.

Police arrested him on charges of Boating Under the Influence (BUI), Hit-and-Run, and Operating a Vessel with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) over 0.08 under the California Harbors and Navigation Code. The boat was impounded, and D’Anna was booked into the county jail.

The incident was also captured by live-streaming cameras from San Diego Web Cam, which shows various views of the downtown waterfront and bay area.

David Koontz, Marketing Director for the USS Midway Museum, shared that the damage to the carrier’s hull was estimated to be around $100,000, although the hull was not breached. There were no interruptions to museum operations, and it remained open to visitors.

The USS Midway is a historic aircraft carrier that served in the U.S. Navy for nearly five decades. It was commissioned on September 10, 1945, just a week after the end of World War II, playing key roles during the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

The ship was decommissioned in 1992 and opened to the public as a museum ship in 2004. The Harbor Police confirmed that no one was hurt during the crash. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

References: fox5sandiego, nbcsandiego

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