Found this on lc.com

http://lakercountry.com/enews/data/u...s/IMG_7890.JPG

The larger boat in the top of this picture wrecked just a few minutes after this photo was made killing the driver and seriously injuring a passenger. Both men are from Indiana. (photo by Joey Hoover)

Saturday, September 6, 2008 -- One person was killed and another seriously injured in a boat wreck that occured only a few minutes after the first group of "go fast" boats departed State Dock this morning to start the annual "Poker Run on Lake Cumberland." WJRS News first reported this tragic event during our 12:05 p.m. Local Newscast. Russell County Coroner Larry Skaggs has confirmed that the boat's driver died from his injuries. The victim is identified as Kevin Sellers, age 47, of Indianapolis, IN. The passenger, Richard Craig Stump, of Greenwood, IN. is undergoing treatment at the Russell County Hospital. Law enforcement officers with the Ky. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife are still investigating the fatal boat crash which occured around 10:30 a.m. near "Difficulty Creek." According to one officer, the boat was traveling at approximately 130 m.p.h. when it went out of control and "barrel rolled." Both men were pulled from the water by spectators and were then tranported by a private boat and a F & W Patrol boat to the Jamestown Marina where they were met by two Russell County EMS units and then taken to the Russell County Hospital.

http://lakercountry.com/enews/data/u...s/IMG_7922.JPG

The picture above shows the first group of boats making the turn, heading toward "Difficulty Creek" less than two minutes after they departed from State Dock to officially start the "Poker Run." Coroner Skaggs says an autopsy will be performed on Sellers' body at the State Medical Examiner's office in Frankfort on Sunday.

UPDATED 1 AM ET SUNDAY

http://lakecumberland.com/forum/view....php?tid=20826

The running of the 2008 Lake Cumberland Poker Run was called off Saturday, after a tragic accident happened shortly after the first flight of very high speed boats departed from State Dock on the first leg of the run toward Conley Bottom and Burnside Marinas.

According to reports, a 2003 Skater 36 catamaran based in Greenwood IN flipped on a boat wake while traveling at a speed of around 130 miles per hour. The pilot and passenger were pulled from the water by bystanders and water patrol, and rushed to the ramp at Jamestown Marina, where they were transferred to EMS ambulance and taken to the ER at Russell County Hospital in Russell Springs.

Russell County Coronor Larry Skaggs is reported by local radio WJRS-104.9 as confirming the driver, Kevin Sellers of the Indianapolis area, died from his injuries. A post on this forum says that he was unmarried with no children.

Sellers was quickly recovered after the crash and trained paramedics reportedly gave him continuous CPR on the way in. He may have had a serious neck injury. The passenger, Craig Stumpf, also from the Indianapolis area, reportedly suffered a possible broken knee and bruises from his ejection into the water, and was hospitalized but is reportedly recovering.

Witnesses say the crash occured when Sellers hit a wave/wake while trying to turn a corner as he chased a fast boat in front of him. According to a report from Marine Assist on this forum: "(Sellers) was attempting to pass the boat in the lead. The Skater came down 'wrong' on the starboard rear and began to chine walk. The starboard bow dug in to the water, which broke the hole throught the hull you see. That water forced through the starboard sponson like a cannon and blew out the transom. The weight and drag caused the boat to flip over, throw the occupants out and take on water. It partially sank, leaving only 12 feet of the bow above the water."

The boat was powered by twin Sterling 1150 HP engines and reportedly capable of speeds up to 150 mph.

The incident happened in the vicinity of Difficulty Creek. This is around the bend east-bound and uplake from State Dock and Wolf Creek. It is the first larger creek section of the lake on the south shore just as the lake turns left to head east. The next lake section from that point is Harmon Creek.

The rest of the actual "run" was called off. The poker cards were drawn on the dock by the registered participants.

Several of the fast boats in the first flight made high speed runs up the lake and back, unaware of the incident. The majority of the large fleet of fast boats were not started. There were thousands of spectators on the shorelines of the lake as well as thousands of boats with spectators along the course to watch.

Reportedly the crash was captured on video, which may be used to reconstruct the incident.

There are a number of photos taken by witnesses and others, including photos of the boat recovery, on the following thread...

http://lakecumberland.com/forum/view....php?tid=20824

tragic..thoughts and prayers to all..

In the picture it looks as if the lake is way low so the water in the turn area is narrower than normal? There is also a large houseboat in the channel area being passed on both sides? If this is true, (I always look for the easiest answers first), should this area have been a maximum speed limit area for all boats due to limited sight distance and possible spectator boat issues?

Sad
 

Rip

I am not an accident reconstruction expert... but.... that houseboat had to be a contributing factor, as the boats rounded the corner,. saw the channel restriction, and set themselves up for the straight.. maybe Kevin saw this, moved over a wake to pass, and the incident took off from there.. the pic of that houseboat, in that position, is VERY unnerving to say the least..

Kevin was a great guy and very giving when it came to helping others I enjoyed the time I spent talking with him about boats, charities, and life in general. We were not super close friends but we were good boating friends and I will miss his enthusiasm for the sport we all love

I feel I need to tell this story as I think it had great irony in the wake of his death

In 2005 a 42’ Outerlimits was running in our poker run (Smoke On The Water) when it flipped over and 4 men were ejected. Two men survived and two perished at our event one body was never recovered.
Kevin sellers was one of the first boats at the accident site and immediately jumped from his boat into the cold lake Michigan waters to provide assistance.
Kevin helped the two men who were struggling in the water the best he could,and then tried to help with the body of one man floating unconscious. (as well as OU Want Some, MTI 42 and a few others ) Kevin acted heroic and with great concern for others with never giving a second thought to his exposure to fuel, cold water, and floating debris

Once the coast Guard arrived they took the body of Johnny Desusa (One of the men that perished) aboard there vessel, and then fished Kevin out of the cold waters onto there boat. By this time I had arrived at the accident site in our Cigarette. As we pulled up to the Coast Guard boat we informed them that I had two nurses aboard (My wife Cherie and her best friend Karen) and asked if they need there assistance The CG asked them to get aboard to help. At this point both girls went to the bow of our boat to be transferred to CG boat My wife stepped off and got on board the CG boat. Next was Karen, as she attempted to transfer from one boat to the other, the boats separated and Karen ended up falling in the water. At this moment it was not the CG that dove in to provide Karen with assistance, but was Kevin Sellers diving back in the cold water off of the CG boat to make sure Karen was ok, and helped her get on board the CG boat safely.
Kevin knew more than most, the risks involved with this sport, and has seen first hand the outcome of a high speed accident.

Kevin and I talked a few times about that day, and how he was affected by being involved in the SOTW rescue.

Kevin gave of his time to take the Make A Wish kids for rides and support of our event.
He gave of himself in helping to rescue at our event
He gave us all a smile with his enthusiasm
He gave us pause as we walked passed his eye catching boat
He gave his life doing what he loved almost more than anything else in life (Performance Boating)

I am sure when Kevin gets to the pearly gates the first thing he is going to want to know is where the boats are

God speed my friend your life here gave us all much joy and in your passing I am sure it will give us change

Marc Blondin
PRO LLC
Smoke On The Water Poker Run

I don't understand.... why is it always the good ones that get taken from us. :(

wow very sad, thanks for sharing that story marc
god speed kevin
scott and melinda

Marc, I am so glad you posted this. Back in july, while in his boat, Kevin spoke to me in great detail about that awful accident on 05. He told me that is something that will be burned into his mind forever. He got kinda choked up while speaking of it. That's just the kinda guy he was.

I'm glad that everyone now will know a little more about his type of character, and what a caring person he was.

Thank you..........Frank