A fisherman is suing a speedboat driver after he crashed into his vessel, forcing him and his passengers to dive into the river.
A GoPro camera captured the dramatic moment Marlin Lee Larsen’s 31-foot motorboat plowed into Bryan Maess’ 20-foot fishing boat near the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon, and the Pacific Ocean on August 12.
Footage shows Maess, who had been fishing with passengers Christopher McMahon and Roni Durham, frantically waving his arms and shouting ‘Hey!’ to try and get the attention of the boat bearing down on them.
All three jumped into the icy river with seconds to spare. The next moment, Larsen’s boat crashed into the fishing vessel, causing serious damage.
Maess, 47, an off-duty Hermiston police officer and part time salmon fisherman, says he suffered injuries to his ankle, leg and arm during the incident, while McMahon, 46, and Durham, 57, also suffered injuries.
Larsen, 75, who uses a motorized scooter on land, told investigators he crashed because he was unable to see the other boat from his sitting position.
But one of Maess’ passengers claims he saw Larsen using his cell phone while driving the boat.
Larsen insisted that he’d only used phone on the morning of the crash, telling Oregon Live such claims were ‘fake news.’
Police say neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the crash but cited Larsen for reckless operation, three counts of reckless endangerment and three counts of fourth-degree assault.
Larsen has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Now Maess has filed a $372,500 lawsuit against Larsen.
In it, he claims he suffered vision problems and is still wearing a knee brace six months later.
McMahon and Durham, who suffered cuts and hypothermia, have hired attorneys and plan to file their own lawsuits.
Durham also reportedly suffered psychological trauma and has not been able to go back out on a boat since.
