Two men died when their powercat crashed during a racing event on the Potomac River near Fairview, Maryland. An investigation is now underway.
*WARNING: DISTRESSING FOOTAGE*
Two men killed while participating in the Potomac River Radar Run have been named by the police.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police identified the driver of the 36 Skater as James Melley, 49. His throttle man was 61-year-old Garth Tagge.
Both men were from Georgia and were well known on the racing circuit.
Video footage of the crash shows the 36 Skater speeding along the water before flipping over several times.
Both men were thrown from the open cockpit of the vessel.
Their bodies were later recovered from the water.
Police have said the 36-foot boat is capable of reaching speeds of 190 miles per hour.
The crash on the Potomac happened on 15 October, 2016, on a stretch of the radar run course close to Tim’s II Restaurant and Crabhouse, near Fairview Beach in King George County, Virginia.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police has jurisdiction over the Potomac River which is why the crash is being investigated by its officers.
In August, Tagge and Melley won the Top Cat – Non-Professional award at the 2016 Lake Of The Ozarks Shootout.
The pair reached a top speed of 194 mph.
According to the event’s website, the Lake Rescue Shootout started in 1988 as an event in which “many local boats participated simply to establish who had the fastest boat.”
Since then it has become a firm fixture of the racing calendar.
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