Not sure I want to post this but I will for the morbidly curious. A friend and co-worker of mine was with one of the families involved in the accident but not at the scene. What follows is his email to me this morning. I don't post on HB so you won't see this over there.
John,
Here are the facts as best as I know them with regards to the accident. Our friend who has many many hours on the river was the one that had the alcohol in his system. I believe he blew 0.18%. With that being said, he was doing as he should, heading south on the right-hand-side of the river. He was doing between 35 and 45 at the time of the accident. The other driver of the boat, who, from what I understand, was sober, was heading North back towards Topock Marina. Based on a conversation at the hospital in Las Vegas, he said he was having difficulty seeing because of the setting sun, so he was traveling on the left-hand-side of the river (a no-no as far as I know). I am not sure of the approximate speed of this boat. When both boats finally realized they were dangerously close to one another, our friend veered to the right (I was just taught earlier that day that that is the appropriate course of action in such a situation as outlined in the Coast Guards guide) and the other driver went left which resulted in the head on collision.
I am not fully aware of all the injuries on the other boat other than that of the poor child's fatality. On our friend's boat, his wife and autistic child, having been situated in the bow of the boat, were flung into the water, landing safely and unharmed other than initial shock. Their other 13 year old daughter broke her arm and jaw, losing about 4 teeth in the process. The driver hit the steering wheel, breaking a couple of ribs and puncturing his lung.
As I was the designated driver that day, it was a long, long night as I drove from Park Moabi to Golden Shores to Fort Mohave to Golden Shores and then after an hour's sleep to Las Vegas and back. Also, as of last night, it looked as though our friend's daughter and he (or should it be: him) will be released today. And that, my friend, is the best recounting as I know it. Our friend shouldn't have been on the water with that much alcohol in his system but he isn't solely to blame and the bottom line is that no matter which side you take, this was a tragic event for all involved.