<a href="https://winknews.com/" rel="home"> <span class="screen-reader-text">WINK News</span> <svg class="c-branding__logo-full"> <use xlink:href="#svg-logo-white"></use> </svg> </a> <br> <br><span><svg id="Layer_1" data-name="Layer 1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 67.1 84.2"><defs><style>.cls-1 {fill: #fff;}</style></defs><path id="Path_591" data-name="Path 591" d="m0,84.2h31.5l35.6-42.2h0L31.5,0H0l35.6,42L0,84.2Z"/></svg></span>LATEST NEWS<br> <a href="https://winknews.com/" rel="home"> <span class="screen-reader-text">WINK News</span> <svg class="c-branding__logo-search c-branding__logo-full"> <use xlink:href="#svg-logo-white"></use> </svg> </a> <br>SHOWING <span class="quicksearch-numberresults"></span> RESULTS FOR:<br>Filter results by:<br>Please try another search or check out the latest stories below.<br>Reaction to a new development on Fort Myers Beach has gone from negative to life-threatening.<br>Flags in Charlotte County will be at half-staff on Friday in honor of Sgt. Elio Diaz, the Charlotte County deputy shot and killed in the line of duty on Sunday.<br>First responders are teaming up with Santa to surprise kids celebrating Christmas from the hospital. Saint Nick stopped by NCH for the ninth annual Sydney’s Santa ride toy drive event.<br>From running one of the country’s top youth football organizations to shining on SWFL gridirons, the Quinn family is all about football.<br>Southwest Florida relies on tourists and visitors for income. In Fort Myers, one of the big draws to the area this time of year is the City of Palms basketball tournament.<br>Winds of change are sweeping through Southwest Florida, and in particular, Captiva, a Lee County barrier island. Strong storms could be bringing those winds on and could change Captiva’s geography.<br>Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell called out gunman Andrew Mostyn’s family for not doing enough to prevent the tragic shooting and killing of Sergeant Elio Diaz.<br>The Wooten family feels their name is being tarnished after the recent airboat crash in Ochopee on Friday, December 13th. <br>A Collier County technical college has begun open enrollment for the spring semester. <br>A 13-year-old has been arrested in Lehigh Acres after authorities say he groped a woman in his neighborhood.<br>According to a health study, 14% of Hispanic men and 6% of Hispanic women have sleep apnea.<br>New numbers from the Federal Aviation Administration show that lithium battery fires occur nearly twice a week on U.S. Flights.<br>A former Uber driver has been found guilty of raping his passenger.<br>Traffic has been disrupted in Fort Myers due to an overturned dump truck at Ortiz Avenue and Colonial Boulevard.<br>The plea hearing for the man accused of a drunk driving crash that killed a Matlacha woman has been rescheduled.<br>Reaction to a new development on Fort Myers Beach has gone from negative to life-threatening.<br>Flags in Charlotte County will be at half-staff on Friday in honor of Sgt. Elio Diaz, the Charlotte County deputy shot and killed in the line of duty on Sunday.<br>First responders are teaming up with Santa to surprise kids celebrating Christmas from the hospital. Saint Nick stopped by NCH for the ninth annual Sydney’s Santa ride toy drive event.<br>From running one of the country’s top youth football organizations to shining on SWFL gridirons, the Quinn family is all about football.<br>Southwest Florida relies on tourists and visitors for income. In Fort Myers, one of the big draws to the area this time of year is the City of Palms basketball tournament.<br>Winds of change are sweeping through Southwest Florida, and in particular, Captiva, a Lee County barrier island. Strong storms could be bringing those winds on and could change Captiva’s geography.<br>Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell called out gunman Andrew Mostyn’s family for not doing enough to prevent the tragic shooting and killing of Sergeant Elio Diaz.<br>The Wooten family feels their name is being tarnished after the recent airboat crash in Ochopee on Friday, December 13th. <br>A Collier County technical college has begun open enrollment for the spring semester. <br>A 13-year-old has been arrested in Lehigh Acres after authorities say he groped a woman in his neighborhood.<br>According to a health study, 14% of Hispanic men and 6% of Hispanic women have sleep apnea.<br>New numbers from the Federal Aviation Administration show that lithium battery fires occur nearly twice a week on U.S. Flights.<br>A former Uber driver has been found guilty of raping his passenger.<br>Traffic has been disrupted in Fort Myers due to an overturned dump truck at Ortiz Avenue and Colonial Boulevard.<br>The plea hearing for the man accused of a drunk driving crash that killed a Matlacha woman has been rescheduled.<br>The Wooten family feels their name is being tarnished after the recent airboat crash in Ochopee on Friday, December 13th. <br>Shelley Wooten, the granddaughter of Raymond Wooten, the founder of Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours, has one request. <br>“In light of what happened on the thirteenth, my family and my mother would respectfully request that they change the name because it’s no longer honoring my family’s legacy,” she said. <br>Thirty-three people who rode on Wooten’s airboats were part of the crash on Friday. <br>“I haven’t slept much because I’ve been thinking about these people, and they deserve more of an answer than what they’re getting,” Wooten said. <br>Shelley remembers how the family business started in 1953. <br>“Some tourists were driving by, and they stopped and saw my grandpa and his family on the airboat,” she said. “They said, ‘Hey, we’ll pay you if you give us a ride in that thing!'”. <br>Wooten’s has been giving airboat rides since then, even after Shelley’s family sold the business ten years ago. <br>“Airboats are fun, and they can be safe,” she said. “In the 60 years of my family having the business, we never had anything bad that happened.” <br>The airboat accident that happened Friday haunts Shelley. <br>“I saw the helicopters, and I saw some drone footage,” she said. “That’s when I started praying for the people involved.” <br>Shelley thought of people like Alssya Windom, a mom who was seven months pregnant at the time of the crash. <br>“My heart goes out to all of the people that were on those airboats, and the children and the pregnant women,” she said. “I can’t imagine how scared they were.” <br>Shelley remembers the tiger attack at Wooten’s in 2022 when an employee injured his arms and hands. <br>She didn’t speak up then, but she wanted to now. <br>“I don’t want the people that were injured and hurt and traumatized to blame the Wooten family for it because it’s not us,” she said. <br>Shelley is pleading with the current owners of Wooten’s to change the name of the business. <br>“I feel like my father and my grandfather would want me to speak out and say, ‘Just do the right thing and change the name. Rebrand yourself, and fix things,'” she said. “I want that Wooten legacy to end on a good note.” <br>Shelley said she’s called and emailed Wooten’s but has not heard back. <br>WINK News reached out to Wooten’s Thursday for a response to the crash and ask if they’re going to change the name of the business. <br>Wooten’s said a name change would need to come from upper management. <br>The company directed WINK to a statement on their website from Friday: <br>“Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours regrets that a collision involving two airboats occurred this afternoon. <br>We immediately contacted local area emergency authorities, who responded rapidly to the scene, providing care to the passengers. <br>Following the accident, we began working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the sheriff’s office to aid in their investigations, which are ongoing. <br>All of us at Wooten’s offer our sincere sympathies to everyone involved, and wish them a speedy recovery.” <footer class="c-singular__footer"> <div style="padding-bottom: 10px;"> <button class="c-button--secondary" id="open-form-button">Submit a correction</button> <button class="c-button--secondary" id="submit-news-tip-button" onclick="window.open('https://winknews.com/submit-a-news-tip/', '_blank', 'noopener')">Submit a news tip</button> </div> <div id="form-container" style="display: none;"> <div class="wpforms-container wpforms-container-full" id="wpforms-340151"><form id="wpforms-form-340151" class="wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form" data-formid="340151" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" action="/2024/12/19/wooten-family-wants-business-name-changed-after-airboat-tour-crash/" data-token="e608d2689799df2c93e1570e6b072c18" data-token-time="1734669192"><noscript class="wpforms-error-noscript">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.</noscript><div class="wpforms-field-container"><div id="wpforms-340151-field_11-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-divider" data-field-id="11"><h3 id="wpforms-340151-field_11">Please note that article corrections should be submitted for grammar or syntax issues.</h3><div class="wpforms-field-description">If you have other concerns about the content of this article, please submit a news tip.</div></div><div id="wpforms-340151-field_1-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-url" data-field-id="1"><label class="wpforms-field-label" for="wpforms-340151-field_1">Article URL <span class="wpforms-required-label">*</span></label><input type="url" id="wpforms-340151-field_1" class="wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required" name="wpforms[fields][1]" value="https://winknews.com/2024/12/19/wooten-family-wants-business-name-changed-after-airboat-tour-crash/" required></div><div id="wpforms-340151-field_13-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-select wpforms-conditional-trigger wpforms-field-select-style-classic" data-field-id="13"><label class="wpforms-field-label" for="wpforms-340151-field_13">What needs to be corrected? 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All rights reserved. <br> This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent. <br>According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.<br>We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.<br>After a 9-year-old boy was hit by a car while trying to get to school, parents say there’s an issue with the bus stop.<br>The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America.<br> <a href="https://winknews.com/" rel="home"> <span class="screen-reader-text">WINK News</span> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" class="c-branding__logo-ffe" version="1.1" id="Layer_1" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 160 140" style="enable-background:new 0 0 160 140;" 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