On 10/29/09 at about 2044 hours, the Skamania County Sheriff's Office received a report of a boat collision on the Columbia River near the Wind River.  I was dispatched to locate the boat and passengers from shore.  The information provided was, there were two passengers in the vessel and advised they were ont he Washington side of the Columbia River River, on shore, with the vessel after it struck something in the water.  I was not able to locate them from shore at the time.  Sgt. 1 responded with the Sheriff's Office Boat to the Winder River Boat Launch.  We traveled with Medic 71 in the boat to look for the survivors. I had contact with the reporting party by cell phone to guide us to their location.  Their vessel had been totally disabled and they were not able to signal their location.  The survivors did know our location because of our emergency lights and guided us to shore near their location.  Medic 71 and I were dropped off on shore on the landing where Cascade Veneer Lumber Mill is.  We located both survivors and their vessel 500 yards north of our drop off point.  The owner and operator was identified as P1, he sustained a head and leg injury.  The other passenger, P2 sustained a head injury and had been unconscious after striking the dashboard.  P1 advised that the boat motor had the engine repaired recently and the two took it out to see how it ran.  He said they were going fast when they struck something in the water and he lost consiousness.  He said he did not know how long he was out and did not know how they got to shore.  P1 said he was sitting in one of the rear seats but ended up in the front passenger seat.  Boat owner/opeartor P2 advised he was traveling about 30 to 35 mile per hour near the mouth of the Wind River when they struck something.  At first, P2 said he did not lose consciousness but later told Medic 71 he did.  The vessel's right bow area  was heavily damaged.  The inboard motor had been dislodged from the mounts.  Fuel and oil had spilled and were contained inside the vessel.  Medic 71 treated  the two patients and they were brought aboard the trasferred into ambulances for destination hospitals.  The vessel involved in the collision was towed to shore the next day by Sgt. 1 utilizing the the sheriff's office boat.  Neither P1 or P2 were wearing PFD;s at the time of the collision.  THe operation area of the vessel was in very shallow water.  According to river maps the dpeth is two feet and amy vary due to water level.  During the time of rescue and patient transport the depth was one foot in spots and the Sheriff's Office Boat sustained propeller damage.  The time of day was after dark.  The weather was less than adequate, raining and windy.  Visibility was less than two tenths of a mile.

Several attempts to conP2 user were unsuccessfull.  I later learned he was hospitalized for awhile and then had been staying at a friends house for recovery. On 11/10/09 I contacted P1.  He said he was in the hospital overnight and sustained lacerations on his forehead and lip as well as being unconscious. P1 siad the boat had been fixed and they went out trolling just out of the mouth of the Wind River.  P1 stated P2 opened it up (accelerating) and he was sitting the back bench seat.  I asked him how fast they were driving.  P1 said the boat was plaining so he figured 25-30 miles per hour.  He said he did not know how long he was unconscious after the collision but believed he called 911 about 20 minutes.  P2 user sustained a head laceration and a broken leg.  Do to the weather conditions, darkness, boat operation and injuries to the passenger/boat operator, I am sending a citation for Negligent Vessel Operation to P2.
Carson                        