Yikes...

Wow, I know it can get a bit crazy out there on the Columbia. Heck it can be a real zoo at times. This seems to be more along the lines of inattentive piloting.

Holy freakin' Toledo...

I'm assuming everyone was ok? Man..

Was the boat that hit them full of drunks?
Or were they just fucking stupid?

I believe they are saying in the news it was a distracted driver using a cell phone.

I read today the people that got hit have filed suit

Wow, and I thought it was bad on the sound during salmon season.

Having "grown up on the water" as they say... you think people are idiots in their cars? That aint nothing.

Put them in a boat where there's no rules (so they think or as far as they know), where they don't know what they're doing, have zero training or experience, and you take your life in your hands being out there.

quote:

Originally posted by snwghst:
I read today the people that got hit have filed suit

I should hope so! And I hope they wind up owning that guys boat and his house.

The driver was a old man who uses a scooter on land...

He said he couldn't see over the bow because he was sitting down

Absolutely they are entirely justified in suing the ever-loving shit out of that idiot, and I hope they take him to the cleaners.

Oh SNAP! The boat that got hit really held up, considering it was a direct hit.

Tony.

That's scary

Good reaction by the victims. Many people would have just frozen.

In our boating experience here on the east coast, that kind of crazy shit is not as rare as some might think. Wife and I "rescued" several people at different times. Got to the point we had to decide if we really, really wanted to go out.

quote:

Originally posted by PR64:
The driver was a old man who uses a scooter on land...

He said he couldn't see over the bow because he was sitting down

Either trim the bow down or slow down.

One of the victims is a cop. Good situational awareness apparently.

http://www.eastoregonian.com/e...ve-from-fishing-boat

A Hermiston sport fisherman has filed a lawsuit after being rammed in a harrowing boat crash on the Columbia River near Hammond in August. Bryan Maess, a patrol sergeant with the Hermiston Police Department, is suing the alleged driver of the boat — Marlin Lee Larsen — for $372,500 after the boat he was on was slammed while trolling for Chinook salmon during the popular Buoy 10 fishery season. The lawsuit claims Larsen caused physical and emotional injury in his negligence prior to the crash. Maess, Chris McMahon and Roni Durham were standing in a 20-foot Weldcraft about 8:30 a.m. near Tansy Point when they noticed a 31-foot Bayliner Trophy speeding toward them. After yelling at the boat and waving their hands, the trio leaped into the river seconds before crash. The three were eventually pulled from the water and treated at Columbia Memorial Hospital for minor injuries. Their boat was severely damaged by the crash. The lawsuit alleges Larsen was traveling at an excessive speed, distracted from using his cellphone and did not have one of the two other occupants of the vessel keep watch of surrounding boat traffic. Maess sustained injuries to the right side of his body. He continues to wear a knee brace on his knee, his ankle still hurts and a wound on his shin has not fully healed, according to the lawsuit. He initially experienced neck pain, vision issues, headaches and a hyper-extended left thumb after floating with the debris from the wreck in the cold water. The lawsuit also claims Maess, 47, suffered emotionally and financially after needing to take time off work. McMahon is also an officer with the Hermiston police department and was a member of the regional SWAT team before the collision, and also took time off. Police Chief Jason Edmiston said he requested McMahon temporarily taken off the SWAT team when he found out about the wreck, and McMahon later decided to step down entirely. He is now one of two school resource officers in Hermiston, Edmiston said, but wasn’t able to start that job right away because the wreck happened shortly before the school year began. Larsen, 75, pleaded not guilty in September to three counts of fourth-degree assault, three counts of recklessly endangering another person and one reckless operation of a boat charge in connection with the case. An early resolution conference in the criminal case has been scheduled for later this month.

I hope the trio that got hit will own the bigger boat next time out on the water, and the sit-down-can't-see pilot is sued right down to his oars.

Glad they’re having ok and hope they win their lawsuit.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
Oh SNAP! The boat that got hit really held up, considering it was a direct hit.

Tony.

As an engineer, I’m impressed that the boat remained floating. Very well designed and constructed.