A Waterford man has been identified as the person who died in a boat accident on the Connecticut River in Portland Sunday afternoon.
Wayne Hamler, 60, was killed when the boat he was in veered towards the shoreline and collided with rocks on the bank of the river around 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Hamler was one of eight people who were in the 21-foot Yamaha jet boat when it crashed. There were two children on the boat, officials said.
It happened just north of Petzold's Marina.
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Several people were thrown from the vessel in the collision and suffered serious injuries.
According to DEEP, a 45-year-old woman remains in the hospital in critical condition, a 52-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man are hospitalized in stable condition and a 6-year-old child is in the hospital is serious, but stable condition. The other victims were treated and released, officials said.
Investigators said they are trying to figure out what caused the operator to lose control of the boat as it traveled north up the river.
