You guys can complain about readers' comments, I won't

Saw this story on the Big Lead this morning. Boat on a lake traveling at up to 100 mph flips, killing the two occupants. There is some sort of festival on the lake every year where boats speed around.

The news story gives no real information. In fact, in the video story, the reporter sites possible 'driver error'. Yet it is clear from the commenter-provided youtube, the oncoming boat was a HUGE factor in the crash.

A couple comments in, you can see what happened. These two boats are racing, and third boat comes across the upcoming path of the two racing boats - causing one to swerve, and get airborne.

Not to get all Yankeefan about this, but HOW DO YOU MISS THIS?

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Coroner-called-to-scene-of-boating-accident-in-Wayne-County-222813111.html

 

What's the problem? Sounds like "driver error" to me.

Unless you're going to blame them in hindsight for not having a reporter there, I don't see a problem.

 

Yeah, I'm lost on the problem here. Clearly, the reporter didn't have the YouTube video and could only go from the investigation after the fact. It's clear once you see the video. They didn't have the video.

 

A third boat comes into the path of the two boats racing - that is a pretty big part of the story (narrative, in sj-speak).

Tons of witnesses had to see it - it certainly appears that way from the comments. Pretty big miss.

 

The reporter wasn't there and had to piece a story together after the fact. Witnesses aren't much help when you don't have the witnesses.

 

What ethnicity were the dead guys? The other driver? That's what YF thinks is missing from the story.

 

Heartland lake boat races are so white they make a national park look like a South Central LA block party.

 

They didn't miss it. "Driver error" is a standard catch-all for fluid situations.

It's not like they're reporting that the boaters drove into a tree, or were hammered and flipped intentionally.

 

I think a boat shifting course to avoid an oncoming boat (then flipping in the wake of the other racing boat) isn't driver error, but we can agree to disagree. If we can't dissuade each other in three posts, we aren't going to do it in 30.

I am more interested in this 'poker run' where boats speed at a hundred miles an hour, but the lake isn't cordoned off, and they aren't real races.

Anybody familiar with this.

 

I meant the driver in the boat that cut in front of the other two.

And, just by looking at that video, I can think of a dozen different ways the incident could've happened. Best to keep it simple until the investigation is over, if you ask me.

And, the lakes I'm most familiar with are the Finger Lakes in N.Y. I can't see anyone going 100 mph on those and living to tell about it.