One woman is reportedly dead and three more people are still missing after a horrific boat crash at Moabi Regional Park in California on Saturday night.
Police and rescue teams discovered the remains of Christi Lewis on Monday, according to a report by CBS News. The 51-year-old was a California native, and she was one of 16 people involved in a high-speed boat crash over the holiday weekend. It took place on the Colorado River, right on the boarder between Arizona and California. One boat carrying 10 people collided with another carrying 6 people. All the passengers were thrown from their vessels.
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The rescue effort continues, as three more people are still unaccounted for. Authorities on the scene say that the victims were buffeted away by rushing currents. Some of those already found were picked up as far as five miles away from the crash site. A spokesperson for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said that not a single person on board either boat was wearing a life vest.
Ten people were injured in the crash. Many were picked up by other revellers out for the holiday weekend, and rushed to nearby hospitals. One person is reportedly still in critical condition, nearly 48 hours after the crash.
Both boats sank in the accident. A huge section of the park and the river has been closed to allow for the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts. Authorities have deployed helicopters to search from overhead while divers look below the water for any sign of the missing people.
“Unfortunately, it is all too common that we have accidents on the Colorado River, and unfortunately in this case… no one was wearing life jackets,” said Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster in a press conference. “It’s not mandated that they do so, but we certainly encourage folks to do that because of situations just like this.”
While rescuers are searching the shoreline all along the area, Schuster said bluntly that there is only a “remote” possibility that anyone made it to the shore alive. He said that those on the scene are “actively treating this as potential drowning.”
As for the crash itself, it has been attributed to rushing waters as well as a lack of visibility. Experts explained that the dark, night-time conditions are a recipe for disaster, especially during a holiday weekend when the river is crowded. However, the sheriff’s office said that it will wait until all three missing passengers have been found to conduct a thorough investigation.
