California officials seek public’s help following horrific boat hit-and-run

California officials are asking the public to help identify the operator of a boat that severely injured a woman on the Colorado River last month, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday. 

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On June 20 around 7 p.m., officials from the department’s Marine Enforcement Unit responded to a report of a boat crash near the Old Trails Bridge, also known as the Needles Bridge, on the Colorado River, where a woman floating in an inner tube was struck, suffering major injuries. The unnamed woman was then airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas for treatment while authorities continued to investigate the crash. The person operating the boat fled the scene.

Now, after receiving multiple phone calls and videos of the crash from the public, investigators from the sheriff’s department are releasing photos of the vessel and asking the public to help locate the operator. 

Certain parts of the Colorado River, which spans over 1,400 miles and flows along the border between California and Arizona, are popular destinations for college students on spring break and vacationers looking to escape the summer heat — but the river has also claimed several lives over the past year. 

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In July 2025, 51-year-old Jeff Brady drowned in the river after rescuing two young boys who were swept up in the current, SFGATE reported. In May of that year, a Bay Area teenager and freshman at California State University Fullerton drowned at Lake Havasu, a reservoir on the Colorado River, after a wave suddenly swept him underwater. In April of this year, a 26-year-old California man drowned after trying to retrieve his hat from the river near Laughlin, Nevada. 

Anyone with more information about the boat operator in the June 20 hit-and-run is encouraged to call the sheriff’s department at 760-326-9200.