Man, 65, Killed In Boating Collision In San Dimas During Practice Race
SAN DIMAS (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a boating collision in San Dimas Saturday left one person dead and another injured.
The two-vehicle accident was reported about 11:15 a.m. near Puddingstone Lake in the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park.
The deceased was identified as 65-year-old Gregory Belda of Los Angeles.
Crystal Cruz, reporting for CBS2, said the injured party was taken to a hospital but has since been released.
Officials said the collision occurred during a boating race practice run on the second day of a three-day powerboat racing event hosted by the Southern California Outboard Association.
The lake had been reserved for the private event. No public boats were present at the time of the accident.
Belda died almost instantly.
Cruz said the rest of the weekend's race activities have been canceled.
The events were canceled, according to Public Information Officer Andre Herndon, "Due to an ongoing investigation, and out of an abundance of caution for all event participants."
"They went into a corner," said Ted Kolby, race event participant. "They were three wide, a warm up lap. They weren't going real fast. The middle boat made a 90-degree turn. We don't know if the steering broke of what happened. And the boat that was on the inside, ran over him."
Officials told Cruz that alcohol did not seem to play a role in the crash.
[Editor's Note: If you have video or photos of the crash, please send them to CBS Street Team at StreetTeam@cbs.com]
The lake is no stranger to deadly accidents. In 2011, three women were killed and four people suffered serious injuries when a personal watercraft collided with a boat.