SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa — Two people were injured Saturday evening after a 42-foot racing boat struck a dock, launched over a boat lift, and continued onto land at East Okoboji Lake.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. Sept. 12 while the catamaran-style racing boat was operating between Stoney Point and the Narrows, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR said the boat struck a dock and launched over a boat hoist containing another boat before coming ashore. It then crossed 255th Avenue before eventually coming to rest.
The operator, 73-year-old Duane Ver Meer, and passenger, 68-year-old Lisa Ver Meer, both of Spirit Lake, were taken to Lakes Regional Healthcare before being transferred to Sioux Falls. Their conditions were not available.
Jon Klemme, who photographed the scene Sunday while investigators were working, said the vessel came to rest upside down more than 200 feet from the water. Officials were at the scene reportedly using LiDAR equipment to create a three-dimensional map of the crash.
Klemme also said a towing company arrived Sunday afternoon to begin removing the boat. The Iowa DNR, Iowa State Patrol, Spirit Lake Fire and Rescue, Dickinson County Sheriff's Department, and Spirit Lake Police Department responded to the crash.
The incident remains under investigation by the Iowa DNR.
