Three Survive the Scare of a Lifetime

Imagine sitting near the mouth of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean in your 20-foot fishing boat when you look up and see a 31-foot motorboat barreling straight at you. All the waving of arms and repeated screams go unheeded, and the motorboat eventually crashes into your boat just moments before you and two pals plunge into the bone-chilling water to save your lives.

Sounds like the script for a move, but it's not. Rather, it's a true story that unfolded back on Aug. 12, 2017. The photo above shows some of the devastating aftermath.

Fishing-boat owner Bryan Maess and his two passengers, Christopher McMahon and Roni Durham, undoubtedly are alive today because they took that plunge. Maess, however, a police officer, continues to suffer vision problems, headaches and injuries to his ankle, leg and arm as a result of what happened.

Maess has filed a $372,500 lawsuit, alleging the motorboat driver, 75-year-old Marlin Lee Larsen, was distracted by his cellphone just before the dramatic crash was caputed on video by a GoPro camera mounted on the fishing boat (click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/zeikelfishing/videos/1597492390334917/).

Larsen, who uses a motorized scooter on land, told investigators he couldn't see where he was driving, since he was sitting down. He admitted he probably should have been standing, according to a sheriff's report. However, he denied using his cellphone while driving the boat, claiming that allegations to the contrary were "fake news." He has pleaded not guilty as his criminal case unfolds.

Larsen's son-in-law, though, who also was on the boat at the time of the crash, told investigators he saw Larsen using his cellphone while driving the boat.

Drugs and alcohol do not appear to have been a factor in the crash. Meanwhile, Larsen has been cited for reckless operation, three counts of reckless endangerment, and three counts of fourth-degree assault.

Furthermore, McMahon and Durham have hired attorneys to also file lawsuits against Larsen. Both suffered psychological trauma during the crash and haven't been able to return to the water.

As I learned late yesterday, from the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster, the investigation, among other things, has revealed that two of the three people in the fishing boat had no PFD when they were forced to jump overboard. The third one did have a PFD, but it didn't inflate. Lucky? Definitely. I suggest, however, that all their respective guardian angels must have been keeping a taut watch that particular day, too.