Oregon man thought he could cling to the boat side to shore. He lost his grip
An Oregon man who died in a tragic boating accident over the weekend has been identified.
Just after 6 p.m. on Friday, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a boating accident at the McKay Reservoir, just south of Pendleton, Ore., about 75 miles south of the Tri-Cities.
Investigators found that eight people had been in a boat that was tubing on the reservoir, according to a news release from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office.
Benjamin Ryan Camden, 41, of Milton-Freewater, was trying to climb back into the boat when the ladder broke.
He couldn’t pull himself up into the boat and decided to hold on to a handrail while the boat’s driver went toward a boat ramp at the shore.
The sheriff’s office said that while the driver was slow motoring toward the ramp, Camden lost his grip.
He slid under the boat and was caught by the propeller, leaving him with serious injuries to his left leg.
He was loaded into a vehicle and met by an ambulance at the entrance to the reservoir. Camden was taken to St. Anthony’s in Pendleton, where he died as a result of the injuries.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 11:57 AM.
