Boat accident shatters baseball player’s dreams.

James McCarthy’s parents were eagerly awaiting his return to their West St. Paul home Saturday night so they could tell him that his lifelong dream was realized.

After years of trying, the 24-year-old man had been drafted by a minor league baseball team.

Now, the dream will never come true. McCarthy suffered severe head injuries, including loss of his right eye, in a Memorial Day weekend boating accident. If he survives, his parents will be able to tell him only about a missed opportunity.

McCarthy was one of two Twin Cities men injured in the accident on Rush Lake in Chisago County about 10 p.m. Saturday. Four minnesotans, including brothers 11 and 5 from Cokato, drowned in holiday weekend incidents elsewhere in the state.

McCarthy was a catcher for the Northwestern Louisiana State University team in 1991 and 1992. He has been finishing his college degree in physical education and business education at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. He has been a part-time baseball coach at Henry Sibley High School, where he played baseball as a student.

Patrick McCarthy, James’ father, said he got a call on Saturday afternoon, about two hours after his son left for the lake. The manager of the minor league team is part of a new, independent minor league that will include the Minneapolis Loons.

“This was his dream,” said McCarthy’s sister, Carolyn. “He’s been playing ball and trying out for years. It’s very tragic. Jimmy doesn’t even know.”

A boat occupied by McCarthy and Richard Pace, 24, of Mendota Heights, was struck by another boat.

Police said the driver of the other boat, a 43-year-old Isanti man, was booked on suspicion of boating under the influence of alcohol. Pace was hospitalized in good condition.

The most recent drowning victim was Neal Lindgren, 52, of Ely, Minn., who died Sunday night. He was thrown from a boat on Lake Vermillion in St. Louis County.

Also in St. Louis County, authorities at Duluth continued to search Monday for a fisherman who reportedly jumped into Lake Superior on Saturday Evening.

The sheriff’s office said Devery Copeland, 32, of Duluth may have jumped into the lake’s harbor between Duluth and Superior in an effort to retrieve a fishing rod.

Authorities were also searching Monday for Daniel Schwab, 11, of Cokato, who was swept into Crow River near Cokato on Sunday while swimming. The Wright County sheriff’s office said that the boy’s 5-year-old brother, Michael, also was swept down river.

The younger boy was found, but died Monday at Minneapolis hospital.

Article Credit: the Pioneer Press, with contributions from Associated Press.