Fatal boating collision north of I-40 being investigated

A fatal boating collision on Monday is now being investigated north of the I-40 bridge over the Colorado River near Topock. A juvenile male operator of a personal watercraft is okay, but his 45-year-old male passenger died at the scene.

On Monday, March 29th at approximately 3:37 pm, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Colorado River Station Marine Enforcement Unit was dispatched to a boating collision on the Colorado River north of the I-40 freeway. A pontoon boat was traveling south from the Park Moabi channel at a slow rate of speed when it collided with a personal watercraft (PWC) that was underway north of the no-wake zone at the I-40 freeway bridge. The pontoon boat turned around after impacting the personal watercraft, placed “two injured males on board the boat” and then proceeded to the docks at Topock Marina where they were met by Fire Department personnel.

Lifesaving measures were rendered, but the 45-year-old male passenger of the personal watercraft later succumbed to his injuries on the scene. The juvenile PWC operator was taken via ambulance to a local hopsital and was later released with minor injuries. The operator and 3 passengers of the pontoon boat were uninjured.

This boat collision is an ongoing investigation.