Tragic Boating Accident: He Didn't Stand a Chance

Benton County, WAWith the approaching summer comes the season for boating accidents, as landlubbers take to the lakes in record numbers for some sun and some fun on the water. But all too often there is tragedy, as witnessed by the death of a boater just a week before summer on the Columbia River near Finley, in Washington State.

A 74-year-old man was boating with his wife on a 30-foot Tollycraft cabin cruiser, when they were hit from behind by another boat. The Tollycraft was in actual fact anchored, about 200 feet from shore along the Columbia River in Benton County, when a 28-foot Chaparral cuddy cabin day cruiser carrying four passengers slammed the Tollycraft from behind. The collision happened around 8pm on June 14th.

According to an eyewitness who was fishing along the riverbank, the Chaparral launched up over the stern of the slightly larger cabin cruiser, completely ripping off a blue canopy that covered the length of the boat. The two vessels eventually broke apart, and the Chaparral started drifting downriver.

The witness said the collision was "explosive" and the occupants of the cabin cruiser didn't stand a chance. The skipper's wife sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital. Meanwhile the woman's husband was lost. It is assumed he was tossed overboard by the collision, and he may have been unconscious when he hit the water. His body has yet to be found after two days of searching by the Coast Guard, and the man is presumed drowned.

Two, of the four people on the Chaparral craft including the 51-year-old driver and his wife, were hospitalized. Investigators suggested that alcohol might have been involved in the tragic mishap. Alcohol was found in the boat, and investigators noted the operator of the Chaparral had a distinct smell of alcohol on his breath.

The Coast Guard, while failing to find the missing man's body as of 2pm Sunday, had reported finding remains in the water, but did not elaborate as to whether those remains were human. The eyewitness on the shoreline remarked that the doomed man was standing at the very back of the cabin cruiser in an effort to pull in a dingy, when the Chaparral hit. Needless to say the man would have taken the full impact of the collision, and would likely have sustained horrific injuries.

As of this writing, no names had been released.

It is illegal in most States to consume alcohol while piloting a boat, or even have alcohol on board watercraft of certain size and dimensions. And here you have an older couple, presumably retired, enjoying a leisurely afternoon aboard their cabin cruiser when their lives were shattered, and their dreams dashed by the actions of an allegedly irresponsible boater.

Perhaps this couple had worked all their lives for this moment --to spend relaxing hours in the pleasure of each other's company on a boat purchased with hard-earned dollars, and doing so responsibly. To have someone else come along on a joyride, allegedly drinking, and take that away, is immoral.

Should this poor woman survive, she will forever have to deal with the sudden loss of her husband, and the trauma of his last moments. Her twilight years have been ruined by the alleged irresponsibility of another.

Let's hope she sues the bastard…