Around the world, more than seven million people (including readers of Cruising Odyssey) watched the terrifying video showing a larger powerboat bearing down on three fishermen in a small boat near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon on Aug. 12, 2017. In the video, the owner of the fishing boat, Chris McMahon, waves his arms and yells, “Hey, Hey, HEY,” as the larger boat, a 31-foot Bayliner Trophy, gets closer and closer.
The video (below) shows one angler, Roni Durham, jump into the water. McMahon also dove in just before the Bayliner climbed up the transom of his boat, a 20-foot Weldcraft. The video shows the third person, Bryan Maess, jumping off just as the Bayliner hit.
What’s new is the picture above, a screen shot, captured by GoPro cameras on the fishing boat, and it’s pretty frightening.
The three anglers were lucky. A Good Samaritan boat nearby saw the accident; it was too small for all three to climb on board, so they hung on to the gunwale while it carried them over to the Bayliner, which by then had freed itself from the back of McMahon’s boat.
Durham and Maess climbed on the Bayliner. McMahon was still upset and didn’t want to board the boat that almost killed him, so the Good Samaritan took him over to another boat.
Marlin Lee Larsen, the driver of the Bayliner, said he was sitting down and didn’t see McMahon’s boat. He had installed some new electronics, he said, and they blocked his view.
Authorities cited Larsen on three counts of assault and reckless endangerment, and one count of reckless operation of a vessel. Larsen was 75 at the time, and used a motorized scooter on land. He pleaded not guilty but passed away before the criminal case made it to court. McMahon and Maess later sued Larsen’s estate for civil damages.
One thing has changed in the intervening four years. At the time of the accident, McMahon was not wearing a life jacket. He now puts one on every time he goes fishing. See the video here:
