Accident at Cumberland Poker Run

[insanity342]

Rip

[BUIZILLA]

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..

[boatme]

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

[Audiofn]

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

[yzbert]

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

[10x]

Originally Posted by boatme

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. 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

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

[BowenCT]

Originally Posted by boatme

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


Marc Blondin
PRO LLC
Smoke On The Water Poker Run

Wow, that is a heavy, heavy post. Thanks for sharing.

Thoughts go out to the friends and families.

[wrinkleface]

Sincere thoughts for all concerned. Tracy

[Jassman]

Originally Posted by boatme

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

Thanks for giving us all some insight on what a great guy Kevin was...RIP

[bouyhunter]

boatme - Marc.
Thanks for sharing that about Kevin.
It's important for us that never had the chance to meet him to know what kind of special guy he was.
RIP