Man killed in Lake Tapps boat collision identified

Man killed in Lake Tapps boat collision identified

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Story Published: Sep 29, 2008 at 11:25 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 3:04 AM PDT

By KOMO Staff

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BONNEY LAKE, Wash. -- Witnesses said they heard boats racing on Lake Tapps before two motorboats collided late Monday night, leaving one person dead and nine others injured.

East Pierce Fire and Rescue Interim Chief John McDonald said the boats crashed at 10:37 p.m. between Inlet Island and Interlake Island.

The impact threw the driver of one of the boat's into the water. Rescue crews combed the lake for the missing person and found the driver's body some time after midnight.

On Tuesday medical examiner identified the victim as 49-year-old Ronald C. Scott of Bonney Lake. The cause of death was freshwater drowning and blunt force trauma to the head, chest and leg.

McDonald said two people are in critical condition and one is in serious condition. One was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The remaining six people suffered only minor injuries.

Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell said it appears a speeding ski boat hit the other boat from behind then ran it over.

"All of a sudden I just heard this terrible crash and I knew the instant that they hit that it was bad," said Wendy Swanson.

The crash happened just behind the home of Swanson and her husband, Don, who ferried a group of paramedics and police officers out to the injured boaters.

"We got out to the two boats and it was pretty much pandemonium," Don said. "It looked like one of the boats hit the other boat right at the driver's side and then went over the top of it.

"The whole front of the boat was ripped off, so it looked like one boat went up over top of the other one."

Witnesses said the speeding boat was going about 25 mph and the other boat was following the nighttime no-wake rule. The night-time speed limit on the lake is 5 mph.

"(The boat was) exceeding the speed limit at that time of night with the visibility you have out on the lake," said Ofc. Tim Rice. "Boats don't have good lighting to begin with, so it's very dangerous to be going that fast out on the lake."

Neil Larsen, the driver of the speeding boat, was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of homicide by watercraft and watercraft assault. Police believe he may have been drinking while operating the boat.

Larsen was cited earlier this year for failure to register his boat.

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