Man hurt when boat plows into marina

SQUAW BAY, Idaho — A man was injured Monday when a powerboat he was driving struck a dock at the Panhandle Yacht Club here, went airborne over a sailboat and landed partially atop another dock, witnesses and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said.

The boat operator, and lone occupant, was identified as Larry M. Petillo. Petillo, complaining of a possible back injury, was placed on a back-board and transported by a Kootenai County Fire and Rescue boat to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene.

The accident happened at 3:30 p.m. Monday, sheriff’s officials said. The powerboat appeared suddenly, coming out of the lake and headed straight for the private, sail-only marina, harbormaster Neil Stephens said.

“We don’t know where he came from. He was coming under full power,” Stephens said.

Stephens and others at the yacht club watched in horror as the powerboat struck an outlying dock and launched airborne over a sailboat, snapping a mast along the way. The boat then ripped across the yacht club’s swimming area at an estimated 20 mph, Stephens said.

“We are so lucky” the swim area was empty, he said. “Last weekend we probably had 40 kids out there.”

The boat came to rest partly atop a second dock and was shoved back into the water by Stephens and others who rushed to the aid of the boater, who was semiconscious.

“We didn’t know if he had a stroke or a seizure or what,” Stephens said.

There are no public services at the Panhandle Yacht Club, which offers private slips for sailboats, Stephens said.