The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified two men fatally injured over the weekend in a boat crash on the San Joaquin River.
Scott Randall Seabourn, 68, of Lodi, and Paul Anthony Mendes, 51, of Hanford, were among three people involved in the crash.
The vessel overturned and submerged shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent said. Media reports said the crash occurred near Prisoners Point and Hayes Beach.
A nearby boater told ABC10 he saw the vessel “fly up in the air” before crashing hard enough to rip off both motors, the seats and the windshield.
One person was recovered from the water with major injuries and transported by Life Flight to a local hospital in critical condition, Brent said.
Seabourn and Mendes were not immediately located following the crash. Search efforts began Sunday evening for the missing boaters but were suspended when darkness fell, authorities said. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team joined its Boating Safety Unit in the search the following day. By Tuesday, both men’s bodies had been recovered, Brent said.
On social media, a man identifying himself as Brad Seabourne said his cousin was killed in the crash.
“From fast airplanes to fast boats to fast cars and Sand cars you always pushed it to the limit,” he wrote. “I love you cuz and you will always be in my heart for as long as I live.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Brent said.