Havasu News Herald:
By Sharon Dunham
Saturday, June 25, 2005 9:27 PM MDT
A California man died early Saturday morning in a two-boat collision north of the Island in the main channel of Lake Havasu. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident that involved 15 people about 150 feet from shore.
The Lake Havasu Fire Department determined that Guy Lane Sutterfield, 41, of Quartz Hill, was dead when they brought him on shore, said Trish Carter, public information officer for the Mohave County Sheriff's Department, whose officers responded to the 1:18 a.m. accident.
A woman on Sutterfield's 1979 Tahiti boat was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas where she was listed in critical condition Saturday night, Carter said. A man on the Sutterfield vessel was treated at the Havasu Regional Medical Center and released.
The six adults and six children on the second boat, a 2001 Blue Water vessel, were also treated at the local hospital and released. Their names and residences have not been released,
River Medical helped the fire department take the victims to the hospital and Vessel Assist helped bring boaters to shore at Site Six on the Island, Carter said.
In a separate accident Saturday off Mesquite Bay, Carter said an inexperienced, first-time Waverunner operator injured a woman by hitting her in the water with his vessel.
The California Waverunner operator, whose name has not been released, was traveling near shore when he hit the back of one boat. A woman sitting on the stern step of a second boat jumped in the water when she saw him approaching. He turned the Waverunner, but could not avoid hitting her, Carter said.
Lake Havasu Fire Department staff took her to land, where River Medical transported her to the hospital.
Her condition was not known on Saturday night, Carter said. No one was hurt on the first boat that was hit.
The sheriff's department charged the Waverunner operator with negligent reckless operation of a watercraft, a misdemeanor offense. He was cited and released at the scene.
Another lake-related accident was reported Friday in which one man was injured in a single-boat crash Thursday afternoon.
Chris Abbott, 35, Ontario, Calif., sustained 5-inch lacerations to both shins, bruised his abdomen and possibly broke some ribs after he crashed his 1973 Hondo Jet Boat into the shore near the Havasu Pumping Station while attempting a turn, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The boat's steering malfunctioned, causing the boat to run aground, splitting the bow apart and pushing the seating area forward.
The accident occurred around 5 p.m. and Abbott was flown to University Medical Center in Las Vegas for treatment.
The SBSD officers said their preliminary investigation indicates alcohol was a factor in the crash.