KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri-based speedboat crew escaped without serious injury over the weekend after their boat lost control and became airborne during an event in Arizona.
The crew from Freedom One Racing Boat Tech was taking part in the Desert Storm Shootout at Lake Havasu, northwest of Phoenix.
Video that has since gone viral on social media shows the speedboat gathering speed on the lake before losing control and going airborne. The boat rotated and flipped before crashing into the water.
Ray Lee, "Speedboat Magazine" owner and publisher, was one of the witnesses on the scene. He spoke to Phoenix-area TV reporter Zach Prelutsky about what he saw.
"We saw the race team proceed down the course, and they started out really well. I mean, nothing out of the ordinary,” Lee said. “And then it was about halfway, three-quarters way down the course when we saw the nose start to lift.”
Ryan Olah is part of the Freedom One Racing team. He told reporters it appeared the nose of the boat caught a gust of wind and sent the boat airborne as it was traveling more than 200 mph.
The two occupants of the boat escaped serious injury but did need medical attention for broken bones and bruises.
“Today, they’ve been in great spirits, joking around a little bit, sore and banged up, but for the most part, I mean, they’re happy and the boat can be fixed,” Olah said. “It’s all just parts and a little bit of time, so we were just glad that nobody had any major injuries.”
The team said it was able to help raise $20,000 during the event for St. Jude’s and Wounded Warriors.
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