A boat driver killed a young woman by turning too fast and crashing her into another boat while she was tubing, her friend claims.
Kaileigh Seidel, 24, died June 22 from injuries she sustained in the collision on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
Police said she was “thrown” off the boat at around 8pm, but her friend Millie Lovea, who was on board watching helplessly, blamed the driver.
Lovea said the driver was “going back and forth across the river” and took a turn too quickly, throwing the tube – and Seidel – into the other boat.
Kaileigh Seidel, 24, died June 22 from injuries she sustained in the collision on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
Seidel was tubing on the river with her friend Millie Lovea (pictured together just three hours before she died), who witnessed the accident.
He claimed Seidel was pleading with the person steering the boat to slow down and drive less erratically, but they didn’t listen to her.
“My beautiful best friend and I had just gotten out into the water, and it seemed like we were having a great time, when everything changed in an instant,” she said.
‘Seeing my friend hurt and feeling helpless is something I can’t shake. Calling his family was even worse.
‘I am overwhelmed with guilt and sadness, wondering why things happened the way they did.
‘I keep replaying the events in my mind, wondering what I could have done differently or better to save her.
“Survivor’s guilt is real and it’s something I’m going to carry every day.”
Her friend claimed Seidel was pleading with the boater to slow down and drive less erratically, but they didn’t listen.
His family said Seidel was not a typically worried person, and if he was begging the driver to slow down, it must have been very dangerous.
Seidel’s family thanked friends and Portland residents for supporting their family and sharing their love.
Seidel’s aunt, Rachelle Hunsperger, after hearing Lovea’s account, insists that the boat driver should be charged with causing her death.
‘This was not just a simple accident. She didn’t “fell” off a ship. This boat driver must be held accountable,” she stated.
Hunsperger said KPTV that Seidel was not a normally worried person, and if he was begging the driver to slow down, it must be very dangerous.
‘That seems very like her. She always said, come on, let’s have fun. “If she was telling someone to slow down she was probably scared,” she said.
‘This was not a simple accident. “I feel like there’s definitely someone to blame and I hope that comes to light.”
Seidel’s boss said she “had incredible energy, a loving heart and a smile that could light up the world.”
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office River Patrol is investigating Seidel’s death.
Seidel’s sister, Aliyah, also criticized the boat driver, whom Seidel did not know well, for his alleged dangerous behavior.
“She was so innocent and she was taken so violently because of someone else’s decision to be reckless,” he told the local news station.
‘She was very spontaneous and loved to have fun. She was invited to go on a boat and had no idea that it would be the last day of her life.
Aliyah thanked her friends and Portland residents for supporting her family and sharing their love for her sister.
The boat collision took place on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
The river runs through the center of Portland, Oregon’s largest city.
“Last time I saw her on Friday night I was helping her move her stuff out of her apartment because she was moving in with my dad to save money,” she wrote on Facebook.
‘She was like, “Seriously, thank you so much, I literally have no one else.” She didn’t know she had hundreds of people.
Terra Yoder, Seidel’s boss, said she “had incredible energy, a loving heart and a smile that could light up the world.”
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office River Patrol is investigating Seidel’s death after a 911 caller “reported they had witnessed a woman being struck by another boat.”
