Seminole Tournament Angler Dies In Boat Crash

Updated 10:30 a.m., March 22

One Bainbridge fishermen died and several others were injured when two boats participating in two separate bass tournaments collided on the Flint River on Saturday, March 19.

The accident happened near the Earle May Boat Basin in the vicinity of the Highway 84 bridge on the Flint River, according to authorities.

Jason Davis died in a boat crash on Lake Seminole on March 20.

The man killed was identified as Jason P. Davis, 43, of Bainbridge. He graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1996 before he earned an associate’s degree from Bainbridge College. His obituary said he was the assistant manager at Decatur Auto Parts. He is survived by three sons.

“The guy that was everybody’s friend, that was Jason Davis,” read his obituary, adding that he was an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, NASCAR and Georgia football.

The accident occurred when a 2001 Stratos bass boat operated by Davis collided with a 2022 Xpress center console at 12:07 p.m. Davis’ passenger, identified as 32-year-old Trey Faircloth, also of Bainbridge, was taken to a local hospital.

The passengers in the other boat, 48-year-old Eric Wilson Mitchell, of Crestview, Fla., and his passenger, a 16-year-old juvenile, were taken to Tallahassee for medical treatment. Both suffered broken bones, a spokesman said. The high school student and his father were competing in a Florida Bass Nation Junior/High School tournament.

At this point in the investigation, alcohol is not suspected, according to Lt. Judd Smit of the Special Operations and Support Section of the Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division. The incident is under investigation and reconstruction is being done by the Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team.