The Camas Police Department has identified the three people involved in a boat crash that killed a woman near the Camas Slough bridge Sunday evening.
Natalia Zelenko, 41, of Gladstone, Ore., was pronounced dead at the scene. She was the passenger in the boat driven by her 39-year-old husband, Andrey Zelenko, who suffered critical injuries and was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
The other boat involved in the collision was operated by 36-year-old John Shoaf of Camas. He was also transported to PeaceHealth, though with minor injuries.
Ambulances and fire boats were called to the state Highway 14 bridge shortly before 7:40 p.m. Sunday evening. The Camas-Washougal Fire Department said arriving crews found two motorized boats had collided underneath the bridge.
Firefighters had to set up a rope system to help pull up the victims, and struggled in muddy conditions, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.
The media release from Camas police reported that both Shoaf and Andrey Zelenko cooperated with investigators, and neither showed any obvious signs of impairment. The investigation is ongoing, and at this time police haven’t made a determination regarding any criminal charges.
Sgt. Scot Boyles said Monday that determining the cause of a boating collision is much more difficult than piecing together the events leading up to a car crash.
“When there’s a car accident, we’re able to measure weight of the cars, distance that they skidded, the surface they were on,” Boyles said. “On the water, we don’t have that luxury. We rely a lot more on witness accounts.”
With one person dead and another in critical condition, a reliable witness account may be hard to obtain, he added. The police department is working with its marine unit to investigate the scene.
Crews from the Vancouver Fire Department, Portland Fire Bureau, Gresham, Ore., Fire Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Port of Portland responded to the scene.
