Fishing Boat Plowed By Big Bayliner

Ever been on the water and had a boat coming straight toward you—like maybe they are just hoping you’re going to move out of the way, or worse, they don’t actually see your boat? That frightening scenario played out for three Oregon anglers, and the bone-chilling crash was captured on a camera.

Bryan Maess, an Oregon resident, was fishing from a 20-foot Weldcraft back in August along with Christopher McMahon and Roni Durham, when this scenario occurred to them. As you can see in the video below, all three jumped ship just before an on-coming boat hit the boat they were fishing from.

Maess has filed a $372,500 lawsuit against the driver of the on-coming boat, Marlin Larsen.

According to The Oregonian, Larsen’s son-in-law told authorities that he did see his father-in-law use a cell phone while Larsen was driving the boat the morning of the accident on Aug. 12, 2017. There is no specific Oregon law against operating a boat while using a cell phone, but it is against the law to operate a boat without due care.

The lawsuit claims Larsen was boating while distracted by his cell phone the morning when the crash occurred in the Pacific Ocean near the mouth of the Columbia River just east of Fort Stevens State Park.

While the two friends of Maess have not filed lawsuits against Larsen, they have hired attorneys. Lawsuits aside, thank goodness the three anglers were able to jump into the frigid water just before Larsen’s big 31-foot Bayliner plowed right through their fishing boat. The video of the crash was first shared by Angling Oregon, a guide service website operated by McMahon.