Sailboat, power boat collide on Seattle's Lake Washington; 1 dead, 2 injured

7/17/2014

Victims and responders gather at the site of a motorboat versus sailboat collision around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, 2014, on the western shores of Lake Washington in Seattle, Wash. At least four people involved in the crash were pulled from the water. Three people were listed in critical condition and transported to Harborview Medical Center, and a fourth victim died at the scene. Seattle police spokesman Drew Fowler says the operators of both boats are being investigated for boating under the influence. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Jordan Stead)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE — A late night collision between a sailboat and a power boat on a Seattle lake left one young woman dead and seriously injured two other people. Seattle police say the operators of both boats are under investigation for boating under the influence.

“Alcohol is believed to be involved,” Seattle police spokesman Drew Fowler told a news conference. The force of the Wednesday night collision on Lake Washington left a debris field about a half mile from shore off Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood, he said. Investigators will try to reconstruct what happened.

Three of the seven people on the 21-foot sailboat were thrown in the water, Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said. They included a woman in her 20s who died, as well as a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s. The injured man and woman were reported in serious but stable condition. They were taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Four people were on the 25-foot power boat, Moore said. One woman suffered minor injuries.

No names were immediately released.

The crash was reported at about 10:30 p.m. Both boats are damaged but afloat.