Excessive speed and carelessness were cited as key factors in a motorboat crash that killed four people on Lake Lanier in July, according to a media report.
A report by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said the 38-foot boat “became airborne” when it tried to overtake another boat and crossed its wake, the Gainesville Times reported.
Two married couples from Kentucky were killed in the incident, which happened in Hall County the night before the Lake Lanier Pirates Charity Poker Run, the paper reported. The occupants were ejected from the boat. Their bodies were found over the next two days.
The victims were the boat’s operator, Arthur J. McMahan, 46, his wife, Melissa Renee McMahan, 45, and passengers Anthony J. Reece and Tammy R. Reece, 45 and 44, respectively, the Times reported.
“The impact with the water at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour likely caused instant death to the victims,” the report said. Also, the victims weren’t wearing flotation devices.
The DNR report also said “a large amount of alcoholic beverages were located in the vessel,” but investigators could not obtain samples for toxicology.
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