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Viral video of boat crash in Oregon leads to lawsuit

Posted at 9:41 AM, Jan 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-18 11:37:26-05

Oregon (KGTV) - A video of a crash last summer in Oregon is going viral; it shows a motorboat plowing into a fishing boat with three individuals onboard.

According to Pacific Northwest News:

"A GoPro camera mounted to the Weldcraft fishing boat captured the frantic seconds as (a) motorboat speeds directly at them." 

The accident left all three people, Bryan Maess, an off-duty Hermiston police officer, Christopher McMahon, 46, a law-enforcement co-worker, and another friend, Roni Durham, 57 aboard the boat with injuries.

The boat driver, Marlin Lee Larsen, 75, who uses a motorized scooter to get around, was accused of multiple crimes after telling investigators he was unable to see where he was driving because he was sitting down and the dash of his boat was blocking his view.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month and claims Larsen was boating while distracted by his cell phone on the morning of August 12, 2017, near the mouth of the Columbia at the Pacific Ocean, just east of Fort Stevens State Park.