VERMILION PARISH — What began as an ordinary workday for 45-year-old James Goodie ended in tragedy on April 23, 2025, when an explosion aboard a vesselclaimed his life, the life of another man from Louisiana, and injured one more.
Goodie, a Kaplan resident, had been working as a crew member on a levee project at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area in Port Arthur, Texas, when the boat — which had just been refueled — exploded shortly after 7 a.m., authorities said.
“We received a call around 7–7:05 a.m. of an explosion on the vessel,” said EMT Antonio Mitchell. “We arrived on scene and we found three patients that were critically injured.”
Goodie and one other person were killed in the explosion.
His cousin-in-law, Chelsey Taylor, said the day began like any other.
“It was his morning routine. Get ready, fuel up, and put things on the boat,” Taylor said. “Nothing went through his mind because it happened so fast.”
Taylor recalled receiving the devastating news while at work.
“I received a text message first,” she said. “I shared with my cousin, things like this don’t happen to us. How did this happen?”
Goodie was remembered as a devoted family man who leaves behind his wife and three children. In a painful twist, the explosion occurred on the same day his son turned 17.
“Love on your family. Don’t ever take for granted that they are coming home,” Taylor said, holding back tears.
As loved ones grapple with the loss, they are clinging to memories of the man they affectionately called “Goodie.”
“I remember Goodie as synonymous with a good person,” Taylor said. “He was really a good person.”
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
