Needles Bridge Accident

[Aztec]

One of my players was telling me about an accident at the needles bridge on Sunday. Two young PWC riders ran into a boat or were run over from what I have read. Both young riders (14 and 19) were killed. I don't want to speculate on any of this until a police report is issued. Another sad story on the River. Stay safe on the water! Here is one news report I found very little information outside of posts from readers. http://www.topix.com/city/needles-c...4-killed-in-seadoo-accident-on-colorado-river

 

[RitcheyRch]

Thats terrible.

 

[SandbarScot]

The Californian / North County Times reported this:

MURRIETA ---- While investigators continue piecing together the events that led to the deaths of two Murrieta girls over the Fourth of July weekend, the families of the girls wait for answers as they make the final arrangements for their daughters.

Desiree Hobill, 19, and Tiffany Breslin, 14, were killed Saturday when the personal watercraft they were riding collided with a boat on the Colorado River just north of the Needles Bridge.

At 5:30 p.m. the driver of the boat involved in the collision, identified only as Daniel Ashcroft, told San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies that he saw a personal watercraft heading toward his boat but he was unable to slow his speed or avoid hitting it. Hobill was driving the watercraft and Breslin was riding, deputies reported.

Both girls fell off the watercraft and passengers of the boat attempted to help the girls out of the water, deputies reported.

The girls were taken to Colorado River Medical Center where at 7 p.m., Hobill, a Mt. San Jacinto College student, was pronounced dead, the San Bernardino County coroner's office reported.

Breslin was flown to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Nev., with traumatic head injuries and was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m. Sunday, the Clark County Coroner's Department reported.

Though the initial sheriff's report indicates Hobill was looking at the Arizona shoreline instead of in the direction she was steering the watercraft, Hobill's father said Tuesday his daughter had always been more responsible than that.

"My daughter knows way better than to ever do that," Ron Hobill said. "We've been boating all her life, all 19 years, since they were little babies. She was well experienced and well-versed on how to maneuver."

Breslin's parents declined to comment, saying they were awaiting results from the investigation.

Hobill also said he wanted to know who was responsible for the death of his daughter. She was completing undergraduate requirements at the local community college with plans to transfer to a four-year university to study engineering, he said. She and her year-older sister, Ashley, were side-by-side teammates on the college softball team, and he was their coach, Ron Hobill said.

Instead of training in the gym with her during the off-season, he is waiting for the coroner to complete an autopsy and return his daughter's body before he can go through the motions to plan her funeral.

"You go through OK moments and then you see something and it just tears you up," he said. "She was just beginning her life and it was taken away."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

 

[Bobby V]

One of my players was telling me about an accident at the needles bridge on Sunday. Two young PWC riders ran into a boat or were run over from what I have read. Both young riders (14 and 19) were killed. I don't want to speculate on any of this until a police report is issued. Another sad story on the River. Stay safe on the water! Here is one news report I found very little information outside of posts from readers. http://www.topix.com/city/needles-c...4-killed-in-seadoo-accident-on-colorado-river

Coach...Very sad news. There is a thread on www.performance.com You will need to do a search.

 

[TPC]

Sad, tragic.

This has been a deadly season for PWC's on the river.

Had several close calls this season already.
If their not jumping our wake they're wrong-way near misses.

 

[n2riverlife]

Wow, that just sucks. So many young grils are getting killed on the water.
Makes me not want my 18yr old go to the river along with her friends.

 

[angiebaby]

While it is so tragic for the parents, I kinda got the impression in the article this morning that the dad was looking for someone to sue. I'm so glad it appears the boat driver had not had anything to drink, otherwise, he'd be screwed. The dad's looking for blood.