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Fishermen Dive Into Water Seconds Before A Speedboat Almost Kills Them

Fishermen Dive Into Water Seconds Before A Speedboat Almost Kills Them

A dramatic video showed three fishers diving into the water seconds before a speedboat totalled their boat in Oregon, USA.

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

It's a close call, scary enough to make you check the state of your pants afterwards: the moment a group of fishermen dived frantically into the water when they realised a speedboat was seconds away from killing them.

CHECK OUT THE NAILBITING MOMENT OF THE CRASH BELOW:

Credit: Salmon Trout Steelheader

The salmon fishermen were working in the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon, USA last August as they noticed Marlin Lee Larsen's Bayliner Trophy speed boat started heading directly towards them.

A GoPro camera fixed to the fishing boat showed Christopher McMahon, 46, Roni Durham, 57, and Bryan Maess, 47, trying desperately to attract the driver's attention with McMahon climbing to the front of the boat, waving and shouting 'Hey!'

Quickly, the trio realised that the cries were falling on deaf areas and jumped into the cold water seconds before Larsen's speedboat took theirs out. Phew, that was a close one.

According to Oregon Live, investigators said that the three could have been seriously killed or injured if they hadn't been so quick in abandoning ship.

Clatsop County Sheriff's Office

Seventy-five-year-old Larsen is now facing a $372,500 (£268,000) lawsuit and a criminal trial after Maess, the owner of the fishing boat, was left suffering vision problems and needing to wear a knee brace following the accident. Ouch.

McMahon and Durham have also said that they plan on suing after they were also left with injuries including cuts and hypothermia.

Attorneys representing Durham have said that although fishing is a big part of her life, she's been unable to get back onto a boat since the collision due to the psychological trauma she suffered. Can't say we blame her.

As you can see from the photos, Maess' fishing boat looks like it took quite a heavy hit too.

Clatsop County Sheriff's Office

Larsen, who normally gets around by using a motorised scooter, told investigators that he couldn't see where he was driving because he was sitting down and the dashboard of his boat was blocking his view.

Larsen's son-in-law, who also was on the boat, told police that he had warned his father-in-law to pay attention and that Larsen had been using his mobile phone on-off while driving the boat on the day of the crash, according to the Clatsop County sheriff's report.

Larsen has denied the accusations, calling his son-in-law's claims 'fake news'. Larsen is now being tried for three misdemeanour crimes: reckless operation, three counts of reckless endangerment and three counts of fourth degree assault.

Bet that McMahon, Durham and Maess are just glad to be able to fish another day.

Featured Image Credit: Salmon Trout Steelheader

Topics: News, US News, crime