One woman dies in Silverdale boating accident

"A Port Orchard woman died in a July 30 boating accident less than a mile south of Silverdale on Dyes Inlet.Michelle A. Watkins, 33, was speeding through the water in the 21-foot Lavey craft outfitted with a 225 outboard motor. Also in the boat were her husband, 31-year-old Charles Watkins, and two friends from Bremerton. The craft hit a wake, causing the front of the boat to come up and flip the boat over, according to Sgt. Earl Smith, marina unit supervisor for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.Investigators think the combination of the high rate of speed - the boat was being driven at about 60 miles per hour - and the boat hitting a wake caused the accident. The four passengers were ejected from the boat.Watkins suffered massive head and neck injuries. It appears she took the force of the boat, said Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue Lt. Robert Law. Law was one of the on-scene CKFR bicycle paramedics who treated the passengers at the dock. After the crash, a nurse who happened to be nearby administered CPR as the passengers were taken to the Silverdale boat launch, where Law and CKFR paramedic Eric Keim began treatment.The bicycle team was waiting on the dock for the boat carrying the injured passengers to shore. We had a 30-second response time to the boat accident, Law said. We were in the water before the boat hit the dock.One of the passengers in the boat suffered a broken rib and the other had cuts on his head and leg. They were treated at Harrison Hospital in Silverdale.Watkins was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she died.Alcohol does not appear to have caused the accident, Earl said. The sheriff's office is continuing to investigate the accident."

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