On September 9, 2011 at approximately 11:35 p.m. three people departed the Lakeside Bar / Marina in a 19 foot, 1988 Ashariti motorboat.  Operator was operating the boat and headed in an easterly direction away from the Bar / Marina at ¾ to full throttle. Operator and occupants had all been consuming alcohol at the Lakeside Bar prior to leaving.  Operator operated the boat with navigation lights on and the bow spotlight on and pointed up in the air.  After a few minutes of traveling in the easterly direction, Operator moved the spotlight down and immediately illuminated the rocky cliff directly in front of him.  Operator made an evasive left hand turn but due to how close the boat was to the cliff along with the speed and forward momentum the boat collided with the cliff.  However, since Operator did make the evasive maneuver, the boat did not hit head-on with the cliff, rather it hit just off to the right side of the bow and since the boat was in a hard left turn, it was also canted hard to the left.  This caused the boat to ride up on the cliff, continuing its left turn direction.  The boat became airborne and continued with its momentum and left cant and plunged back into the water with a severe impact on the left front bow.  This caused all three occupants to be ejected out over the left bow area directly in the path of the boat.  When the occupants were ejected, the boat''s throttle was still in the ¾ to full operational position.  Since the occupants were ejected out in front of the boat as it plunged back into the water, and the boat was still moving, they were directly in line with the boat''s path.  The boat continued in its direction and ran over Operator.  Operator was impacted with the boat and the boat''s propeller which caused significant trauma and eventual death.  The boat continued on its path and then went into a right hand turn and began turning in tight concentric circles with no one on board.  The boat eventually re-impacted the cliff further to the north where it remained wedged and at ¾ to full throttle. Investigators were able to approach the boat via the FWP patrol boat, reach in and turn off the key.  The throttle was not touched and it was photographed in the same position. The three occupants were rescued by a nearby homeowner who took them to his residence and waited  for medical and law enforcement personnel to arrive.  The boat was recovered and impounded at the FWP Helena Area Resource Office where it was thoroughly photographed. There was a small perscription pill bottle recovered in the boat that contained what appeared to marijuana. The pill bottle was labeled as Prednisone for Operator.
Helena                        