A GoPro video of the terrifying moment people were forced to literally jump for their lives because a speeding boat was about to crash into their boat has gone viral. Three people were happily salmon fishing on the Columbia River in Oregon last summer when they were forced to abandon ship because an oncoming boat slammed into their small fishing vessel in a scary head-on collision.
A lawsuit has been filed by 47-year-old Bryan Maess after a boat crashed into his fishing boat, nearly killing him as well as Christopher McMahon and Roni Durham. GoPro cameras mounted on the Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine team’s boat captured the frightening scene from August of 2017. The video was only released this week because of the lawsuit and has since gone viral. Maess is suing Marlin Lee Larson, the 75-year-old who was driving the boat, for $372,000. Larsen said he was sitting down while piloting the boat and couldn’t see the small fishing vessel because the dash blocked his view. I’m no legal analyst, but that’s probably not a good defense. Larson’s son-in-law, who was on the boat at the time, said he warned Marlin to pay attention. The son-in-law told authorities that Larsen sometimes uses his cellphone while driving the boat. Thanksgiving at the Larson’s is going to be lit this year.
The lawsuit claims that Maess injured his ankle, leg, and arm from being struck by debris after jumping into the water to avoid the crash. Maess also says he now suffers from vision problems and headaches from the scary incident. The sheriff’s office has said that all three people on the boat would have likely been killed if they didn’t jump out of the boat. How do you hit the only other boat (a tiny dinghy) in the river? Marlin, get off your damn phone and stand up when boating.
[Fox13]