Arrest made in Thurston County after a man ripped a kayak in half with his power boat

A 20-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with a boating hit-and-run with injury, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office posted Facebook.

Deputies were called to Carlyon Beach on Aug. 3. According to the Sheriff’s Office, a power boat had collided with a kayak on the Totten Inlet side of the Steamboat Island peninsula, leaving its two occupants floating in the water. The operator of the power boat, who was alone, continued on without stopping to assist.

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The kayak was destroyed, and the driver sped off, according to the report. Jet skiers eventually rescued the kayakers and brought them back to shore, where medics treated them for minor injuries.

“Thanks to a detailed description of the boat, our boating deputies were able to track it down,” Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said. “The boat was owned by the operator’s employer, who cooperated fully with the investigation. The suspect has been located and is now facing criminal charges.”

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KIRO 7 reported that the kayak’s occupants were a father and son from Woodinville, Phillip and Anthony Hill. They had been kayaking for about 10 minutes when they saw a boat coming at them at full speed.

“We waved our paddles, we were screaming profanities and trying to get his attention,” Phillip Hill told KIRO 7. “We just had to bail out and we went out the front. I went over the side under the kayak and the boat went right over the top of the kayak.”

The circumstances leading up to the collision are still under investigation. The Sheriff’s Office has urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.