A father and son who were kayaking at a popular beauty spot in Washington state have told how they were forced to leap to safety moments before a power boat drove into them.
After a week-long investigation, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office in Washington has arrested a 20-year-old man, who is suspected of driving a power boat through the two-person kayak, almost slicing it into two pieces.
The incident happened in Puget Sound, at Carlyon Beach, on the Totten Inlet side of the tip of the Steamboat Island peninsula earlier in Augus. Police finally arrested a suspect on Friday following eye witness accounts.
“A power boat had collided with a kayak, leaving its two occupants floating in the water,” said the Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post. “The operator of the power boat, who was alone, continued on without stopping to assist. Thanks to a detailed description of the boat, our boating deputies were able to track it down. The boat was owned by the operator’s employer, who cooperated fully with the investigation. The suspect has been located and is now facing criminal charges.”
The kayakers involved were Philip Hill and his son Adam, who were paddling to Hope Island when they saw a power boat heading for them. As they recount in an interview with KING 5 Seattle (video below) they waved their bright yellow paddles to alert the power boat driver, and refuse to believe he wouldn’t have been able to spot them or their bright red kayak.
But the boat continued towards them and they had to bail, leaping into the water as the power boat ploughed through the kayak, almost breaking it in two.
“You can kind of see a couple of the spots where the propeller hit,” says Adam, showing the damage to the kayak in the video, which shows one end of the craft hanging off. “It split through it entirely.”
And while it’s been more than a week since the potentially fatal collision, Adam says, "Physically, we're fine – mentally, still messed up.”
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