Jet ski accident kills man

By MIKE RICHESON

Bigfork Eagle

Crews from Bigfork Fire, Bigfork Ambulance and ALERT responded to the Flathead Lake Lodge Thursday afternoon to rescue a man injured in a jet ski accident on Flathead Lake. Although emergency personnel were able to gain a pulse, Larry Engelken, 58, was pronounced deceased at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma according to Sergeant Ernie Freebury, a deputy coroner with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

Engelken was on vacation with a group of friends from Colorado. Four of them rented jet skis from Marina Cay and were enjoying a sunny day on the lake. A sharp turn to the right caused Engelken to collide with one of his friends, which threw both of them into the water.

Engelken was unconscious, and his friends kept his head above water until people on a sailboat heard their cries and came to help. An emergency room doctor, who was staying at the Flathead Lake Lodge, was on board the sailboat and began CPR.

At 3:43 p.m., 911 dispatch received the call about the boating accident and paged rescue services. ALERT landed in an open corral at the Flathead Lake Lodge and transported Engelken, who was not a guest of the lodge, to Kalispell. He was pronounced dead around 5:15 p.m.

The man on the other jet ski suffered only minor injuries.

Alcohol or criminal negligence do not appear to be factors in the crash, but the Fish Wildlife and Parks service are investigating the details of the accident.