The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office identified the two boaters in a crash on the Columbia River on Monday night as Oregon residents; the investigation into the fatal crash is ongoing.
Steven Schalk, 55, of Milwaukie, and Heidi Knight, 46, of Wilsonville, were traveling on the Columbia River in a speed boat around 8:15 p.m. Monday when they slammed into one of the Interstate 205 bridge’s support pylons. Knight was hospitalized after the crash, but did not survive. Schalk, the boat’s operator, was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, the sheriff’s office said.
The crash sank the boat. Good Samaritans on the north shore of the Columbia River used their boat to recover Schalk and Knight, then brought them back to land, where they performed CPR until deputies and paramedics arrived, Multnomah County sheriff’s Lt. Chad Gaidos said.
Gaidos said Schalk and Knight were in a 22-foot, two-seat speed boat that appeared to have been traveling around 40 to 50 mph at the time of the crash.
