Swimmer hit, killed by boat
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POLSON — A man in town for a relative’s funeral was struck and killed by a power boat while swimming in Skidoo Bay, northeast of Polson, at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7.
John G. Darrah, 45, Cambridge, Mass., was swimming approximately 300 feet from shore, according to witnesses, when the boat hit him.
He visited the area to attend Ted Smith’s memorial service. Smith was the hiker killed in a fall from the Garden Wall near St. Ignatius on Sept. 1
In a press release, Karen Sargeant, information officer for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, said the boat driver and occupants started CPR immediately, but it proved unsuccessful.
Darrah was pronounced dead at the scene, and his body was sent to the Montana Crime Lab in Missoula for examination.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is still investigating the accident and will issue a press release when the investigation is complete, Sargeant said. She added that alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
