[Paddlewise] 15 year old kayaker left face-down in the water after hit-and-run boating accident

A 15 year old kayaker was found face-down in the water of American Lake,
about 30 miles south of Seattle, and is in critical condition at Madigan
Army Hospital on the Fort Lewis Army Base. The boy's kayak was found with a
hole in it and his paddle was cut in two. Witnesses who live around the lake
have said that they saw a "Baylilner" or "Reinell" type power boat weaving
around on the lake all day. The incident occured March 2nd. A link to the
article on Seattle's KING tv station is here:
http://www.king5.com/localnews/south/stories/NW_030209WAB-kayak-hit-and-run-SW.1b024601.html

An interesting addition to the story is that the physician who treated the
boy at the scene was later arrested for assaulting the driver of a car who
cut him off on the Tacoma Narrows bridge after the kayak incident. The
physician stated that he was upset after treating the boy. Here is a link to
that story: http://www.thenewstribune.com/topstories/story/644632.html

There may be security camera videos of the incident as many home owners have
said that they had cameras pointed out at the lake. So far the operator of
the powerboat has not come forward and the boat has not been found.
Witnesses said that the boat still had its mooring covers on.

I suppose that cold weather does have one good attribute: fewer
powerboaters. As you paddle please remember than many recreational boaters
think that drinking and boating go together. Paddle defensively, paddle with
all your senses alert (including hearing), and limit your exposure to the
areas of water where powerboats are operating at high speeds. In other
words, the margins are your friends.


Caveat paddler.
Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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