Crash on Ohio river / Dayton KY
07-09-2003, 05:48 PM
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'Gofast' boater: We get bad rap
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Post staff report
Allan Hilsinger eased his 520-horsepower "cigarette"-style speedboat away from the wooden dock at Schmidt boat ramp in the East End and into the Ohio River.
The 24-foot, high-performance Baja Outlaw is capable of racing along at more than 70 miles per hour, but Hilsinger crept at just a few miles per hour as he put distance between his sleek white boat and the dock.
Boats smokin'
• "Cigarette" speedboats got their name because of their slender shapes.
• They are also called "gofasts" because they're capable of high speeds.
• Some "gofasts" have hit speeds over 140 mph.
He peered through blue-tinted sunglasses to his right, then to his left and then twisted his neck to check behind him before looking ahead and revving the motor.
"Some boaters forget to check what's behind them when changing speeds or turning," said Hilsinger. "You've always got to be concerned about other boaters as well as yourself."
Hilsinger said he and a group of about 20 Cincinnati area owners of high-performance boats are upset that they are being characterized as unsafe and uncaring in the wake of a highly publicized hit-skip boat accident 10 days ago.
Hilsinger recently demonstrated high speeds for a Post photographer and reporter he invited aboard his boat for a cruise.
At 55 miles per hour, the ride was smooth. At 63 miles per hour, the ride was just as smooth.
"It's the same at 70," assured Hilsinger.
During the cruise, Hilsinger steered far away from barges and even cabin cruisers. He said cabin cruisers, because of their bulk, cause much bigger wakes, and therefore rough water for other boaters, than high-performance boats, which skim the water's surface.
The high-performance boats are in the spotlight as an investigation into the crash continues.
The owner of Snap Decision, a 40-foot Baja Outlaw, is cooperating with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife investigation into whether he crashed into a 21-foot pleasure boat the night of June 27 on the Ohio River near Dayton, Ky.
Six of seven people aboard the pleasure boat were injured and the speedboat drove away.
Police have impounded the Ohio-registered vessel, which they have said they believe was responsible.
The investigation will determine whether charges should be filed against the owner, who is from suburban Columbus.
The owner, Glenn Colann, a 54-year-old car dealer, has hired experts to conduct a parallel investigation, his attorney said.
No evidence has yet been made public showing that the boat was in the vicinity of the crash, Colann's attorney said.
Colann has no citations on record with Ohio Watercraft in connection with the 2000 model boat.
Operators of high-performance boats are being unfairly characterized as a result of the hit-skip accident, Hilsinger complains.
"We're getting a bad rap," he said. "We're being portrayed as rich, snobby, arrogant maniacs. But we're normal, everyday people who just happen to like high-performance boats.
"We care more about the river and the boats on it than anyone. We spend more time on the river than anybody else. We're in love with the river and want to keep it safe."
Hilsinger said he prays for the recovery of the victims in the accident and wants the hit-skip driver -- whoever it is -- brought to justice.
If the driver knew he'd hit something, it is "100 percent inexcusable," he said. "There's an unwritten law among boaters that you don't leave a boat in distress. To leave somebody out there, perhaps to die, is appalling.
"I doubt that anyone is more outraged over this than the high-performance boat people. This individual is not one of us. If some maniac is a threat, I don't want him here. I hope he is never on this river again."
Hilsinger, 30, of Bridgetown, a graduate of Oak Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati, where he majored in marketing, is trying to forge his marketing skills and love for high-performance boats into a career.
After working the past six years in landscaping and real estate, he recently founded a company, Hilsinger Motorsports, and hopes to field boat and car racing teams that promote the products of sponsors. He won a boat race in New Richmond, Ohio, about three weeks ago.
Hilsinger said he's been around boats all his life and six years ago began driving high-performance boats. He bought a used 1998 Baja Outlaw for $40,000.
The model, which sold for $58,000 new in 1998, is a smaller version of the 40-footer suspected in the hit-skip accident.
Police have not speculated on the cause, but Hilsinger said he's heard people blame the crash on high speed. He doubts that was the cause.
"I don't think the problem was high speed. Probably 80 percent of all boats on the river can go 40 or 45 miles per hour.
"People not familiar with high-performance boats equate their high speed with danger, but these boats are built to be safe at high speeds and in rough water."
Hilsinger said his two biggest safety concerns are poorly lit barges at night and inexperienced or intoxicated drivers.
He said in the six years he has been involved in high-performance boating he knows of no accidents on the Ohio River caused by a high-performance boat.
"On the contrary," he said, "there are dozens of accidents each season on the river by smaller, quieter, slower, less flashy boats.
"High-performance boaters are the safest, most experienced operators on our waterways and we take great pride in our record.''
Good Work Allan, see you later at PIP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post staff report
Allan Hilsinger eased his 520-horsepower "cigarette"-style speedboat away from the wooden dock at Schmidt boat ramp in the East End and into the Ohio River.
The 24-foot, high-performance Baja Outlaw is capable of racing along at more than 70 miles per hour, but Hilsinger crept at just a few miles per hour as he put distance between his sleek white boat and the dock.
Boats smokin'
• "Cigarette" speedboats got their name because of their slender shapes.
• They are also called "gofasts" because they're capable of high speeds.
• Some "gofasts" have hit speeds over 140 mph.
He peered through blue-tinted sunglasses to his right, then to his left and then twisted his neck to check behind him before looking ahead and revving the motor.
"Some boaters forget to check what's behind them when changing speeds or turning," said Hilsinger. "You've always got to be concerned about other boaters as well as yourself."
Hilsinger said he and a group of about 20 Cincinnati area owners of high-performance boats are upset that they are being characterized as unsafe and uncaring in the wake of a highly publicized hit-skip boat accident 10 days ago.
Hilsinger recently demonstrated high speeds for a Post photographer and reporter he invited aboard his boat for a cruise.
At 55 miles per hour, the ride was smooth. At 63 miles per hour, the ride was just as smooth.
"It's the same at 70," assured Hilsinger.
During the cruise, Hilsinger steered far away from barges and even cabin cruisers. He said cabin cruisers, because of their bulk, cause much bigger wakes, and therefore rough water for other boaters, than high-performance boats, which skim the water's surface.
The high-performance boats are in the spotlight as an investigation into the crash continues.
The owner of Snap Decision, a 40-foot Baja Outlaw, is cooperating with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife investigation into whether he crashed into a 21-foot pleasure boat the night of June 27 on the Ohio River near Dayton, Ky.
Six of seven people aboard the pleasure boat were injured and the speedboat drove away.
Police have impounded the Ohio-registered vessel, which they have said they believe was responsible.
The investigation will determine whether charges should be filed against the owner, who is from suburban Columbus.
The owner, Glenn Colann, a 54-year-old car dealer, has hired experts to conduct a parallel investigation, his attorney said.
No evidence has yet been made public showing that the boat was in the vicinity of the crash, Colann's attorney said.
Colann has no citations on record with Ohio Watercraft in connection with the 2000 model boat.
Operators of high-performance boats are being unfairly characterized as a result of the hit-skip accident, Hilsinger complains.
"We're getting a bad rap," he said. "We're being portrayed as rich, snobby, arrogant maniacs. But we're normal, everyday people who just happen to like high-performance boats.
"We care more about the river and the boats on it than anyone. We spend more time on the river than anybody else. We're in love with the river and want to keep it safe."
Hilsinger said he prays for the recovery of the victims in the accident and wants the hit-skip driver -- whoever it is -- brought to justice.
If the driver knew he'd hit something, it is "100 percent inexcusable," he said. "There's an unwritten law among boaters that you don't leave a boat in distress. To leave somebody out there, perhaps to die, is appalling.
"I doubt that anyone is more outraged over this than the high-performance boat people. This individual is not one of us. If some maniac is a threat, I don't want him here. I hope he is never on this river again."
Hilsinger, 30, of Bridgetown, a graduate of Oak Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati, where he majored in marketing, is trying to forge his marketing skills and love for high-performance boats into a career.
After working the past six years in landscaping and real estate, he recently founded a company, Hilsinger Motorsports, and hopes to field boat and car racing teams that promote the products of sponsors. He won a boat race in New Richmond, Ohio, about three weeks ago.
Hilsinger said he's been around boats all his life and six years ago began driving high-performance boats. He bought a used 1998 Baja Outlaw for $40,000.
The model, which sold for $58,000 new in 1998, is a smaller version of the 40-footer suspected in the hit-skip accident.
Police have not speculated on the cause, but Hilsinger said he's heard people blame the crash on high speed. He doubts that was the cause.
"I don't think the problem was high speed. Probably 80 percent of all boats on the river can go 40 or 45 miles per hour.
"People not familiar with high-performance boats equate their high speed with danger, but these boats are built to be safe at high speeds and in rough water."
Hilsinger said his two biggest safety concerns are poorly lit barges at night and inexperienced or intoxicated drivers.
He said in the six years he has been involved in high-performance boating he knows of no accidents on the Ohio River caused by a high-performance boat.
"On the contrary," he said, "there are dozens of accidents each season on the river by smaller, quieter, slower, less flashy boats.
"High-performance boaters are the safest, most experienced operators on our waterways and we take great pride in our record.''
Good Work Allan, see you later at PIP.
07-10-2003, 06:19 AM
#124
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Birdog,
He used to have a 24 ft Baja, blue and white, that ran in the high 90s. He sold it and picked up what I think is a 360 or 380. He stops by my camp every once in a while and uses my dock for a over nighter. Last I heard he is a undercover DEA guy... But he does not talk about it much. Do you know Jay Ratcliff (28 ft Warlock), Gary Reed (Team Douglas, Skater), Dwayne Forder? (29 ft Scarab)
Brian
He used to have a 24 ft Baja, blue and white, that ran in the high 90s. He sold it and picked up what I think is a 360 or 380. He stops by my camp every once in a while and uses my dock for a over nighter. Last I heard he is a undercover DEA guy... But he does not talk about it much. Do you know Jay Ratcliff (28 ft Warlock), Gary Reed (Team Douglas, Skater), Dwayne Forder? (29 ft Scarab)
Brian
07-10-2003, 07:09 AM
#125
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I saw that 24 Baja this spring at an Int. shop....90+...NO Hyd. steering !!!!! Scared me just looking at it !!!!
Whoever owns that boat has let it go to hell......Nasty dirty..rigging laying loose.......Bad shape !!
Is your camp above the dam ? I hang out at at plce just above New richmond
Whoever owns that boat has let it go to hell......Nasty dirty..rigging laying loose.......Bad shape !!
Is your camp above the dam ? I hang out at at plce just above New richmond
07-10-2003, 07:22 AM
#126
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Evidence revealed in boat probe
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The "cigarette-style" power boat at the center of the investigation into a bloody hit-and-run crash on the Ohio River June 27 shows signs of what might be blood on its bow and "damage consistent with it striking another boat," according to a report released Tuesday by the Campbell County Commonwealth Attorney's office.
One of the boat's propellers also shows signs of "fresh paint and fibers," the
Two "suspected blood swabs" are among the 34 pieces of evidence that investigators collected and sent to the Kentucky State Police's central forensics lab in Frankfort for testing. The evidence was collected with a search warrant obtained on the basis of a preliminary affidavit filed July 1 in Campbell County District Court by Bruce Collins, a detective for the prosecutor's office.
Other evidence includes hair, fiber and paint samples, and damaged portions of the boat's engine, steering wheel, propellers and hull.
Steve Dowell, a Newport attorney for the boat's owner, Glenn C. Colann, said that finding hair and fibers on the boat doesn't indicate anything.
"There's going to be hair and fiber materials found all over any boat," he said.
And he said the suspected blood swabs are also meaningless at this point, "because they're suspected blood."
Michelle Snodgrass, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Attorney's office, said the lab could take six to eight months before returning results on the tests, but "we're hoping they'll make this case a priority" and expedite the test results.
She said she couldn't say whether having the evidence in hand was sufficient for filing charges against Colann, but she did say that the investigation was going well and "we're satisfied so far with the results."
The $187,000 boat -- named "Snap Decision" -- is a 40-foot Baja "Forty Outlaw" with dual 502 engines, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources records.
Colann has hired his own team of experts to conduct a parallel investigation of the boat.
Dowell, who with Jim Morgan is representing Colann, said they have been working to get permission for their experts to inspect the boat that was hit in the accident.
Seven people were on that craft, a 21-foot open-bow pleasure boat. Six were injured.
Dowell said that prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to move forward with their case.
"There is certainly not evidence for probable cause to issue an arrest warrant" against Colann, Dowell said.
"The damage to the underside of Mr. Colann's boat does not indicate, to the untrained eye, that it was involved in a crash of the magnitude that occurred that night." Collins stated in the affidavit that an unnamed passenger on Snap Decision the night of the incident told him "this boat struck an unknown object during the evening hours" of June 27 on the Ohio River, and Colann then took the boat out of the water at Moscow, Ohio and returned with it to Columbus.
But Moscow Mayor Tim Suter has said he saw someone pulling Snap Decision out of the water at a small Moscow boat ramp the next day between 1 and 1:30 p.m. The affidavit states that investigators have identified Colann's boat as the one witnessed at the ramp in Moscow.
Dowell said that Colann has been a responsible boater since he was 14, and could not have been involved in the accident.
"Mr. Colann did not flee, as everybody is saying he did, he did not flee to Columbus," Dowell said.
Publication Date: 07-09-2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "cigarette-style" power boat at the center of the investigation into a bloody hit-and-run crash on the Ohio River June 27 shows signs of what might be blood on its bow and "damage consistent with it striking another boat," according to a report released Tuesday by the Campbell County Commonwealth Attorney's office.
One of the boat's propellers also shows signs of "fresh paint and fibers," the
Two "suspected blood swabs" are among the 34 pieces of evidence that investigators collected and sent to the Kentucky State Police's central forensics lab in Frankfort for testing. The evidence was collected with a search warrant obtained on the basis of a preliminary affidavit filed July 1 in Campbell County District Court by Bruce Collins, a detective for the prosecutor's office.
Other evidence includes hair, fiber and paint samples, and damaged portions of the boat's engine, steering wheel, propellers and hull.
Steve Dowell, a Newport attorney for the boat's owner, Glenn C. Colann, said that finding hair and fibers on the boat doesn't indicate anything.
"There's going to be hair and fiber materials found all over any boat," he said.
And he said the suspected blood swabs are also meaningless at this point, "because they're suspected blood."
Michelle Snodgrass, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Attorney's office, said the lab could take six to eight months before returning results on the tests, but "we're hoping they'll make this case a priority" and expedite the test results.
She said she couldn't say whether having the evidence in hand was sufficient for filing charges against Colann, but she did say that the investigation was going well and "we're satisfied so far with the results."
The $187,000 boat -- named "Snap Decision" -- is a 40-foot Baja "Forty Outlaw" with dual 502 engines, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources records.
Colann has hired his own team of experts to conduct a parallel investigation of the boat.
Dowell, who with Jim Morgan is representing Colann, said they have been working to get permission for their experts to inspect the boat that was hit in the accident.
Seven people were on that craft, a 21-foot open-bow pleasure boat. Six were injured.
Dowell said that prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to move forward with their case.
"There is certainly not evidence for probable cause to issue an arrest warrant" against Colann, Dowell said.
"The damage to the underside of Mr. Colann's boat does not indicate, to the untrained eye, that it was involved in a crash of the magnitude that occurred that night." Collins stated in the affidavit that an unnamed passenger on Snap Decision the night of the incident told him "this boat struck an unknown object during the evening hours" of June 27 on the Ohio River, and Colann then took the boat out of the water at Moscow, Ohio and returned with it to Columbus.
But Moscow Mayor Tim Suter has said he saw someone pulling Snap Decision out of the water at a small Moscow boat ramp the next day between 1 and 1:30 p.m. The affidavit states that investigators have identified Colann's boat as the one witnessed at the ramp in Moscow.
Dowell said that Colann has been a responsible boater since he was 14, and could not have been involved in the accident.
"Mr. Colann did not flee, as everybody is saying he did, he did not flee to Columbus," Dowell said.
Publication Date: 07-09-2003
07-10-2003, 08:28 AM
#127
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Birdog,
Yes I agree on the 24 ft baja, he sold it cheap for what it is. It has had outdrive problems ever since it was sold. It used to be a really nice boat, the bigger baja 380, runs 70 +. It is a little rough around the edges also. We camp in Utopia, we also have friends in Chilo with a ramp and another dock. Gary Reed's (Soutside Service station, Bethel) place is just above the Dam, his dock sucks because the barges come so close, I don't think anyone leaves their boat in over night for that reason. Where is the best place to put in below the dam or is locking through no big deal?
Brian
Yes I agree on the 24 ft baja, he sold it cheap for what it is. It has had outdrive problems ever since it was sold. It used to be a really nice boat, the bigger baja 380, runs 70 +. It is a little rough around the edges also. We camp in Utopia, we also have friends in Chilo with a ramp and another dock. Gary Reed's (Soutside Service station, Bethel) place is just above the Dam, his dock sucks because the barges come so close, I don't think anyone leaves their boat in over night for that reason. Where is the best place to put in below the dam or is locking through no big deal?
Brian
07-10-2003, 08:58 AM
#128
Registered
For those of you who don't know the area....NOBODY uses Moscow boat ramp to launch anything bigger than a bass boat.
By pulling out there a person would be able to get to Columbus using nothing but back roads....Avoiding the Interstates & Cin. with lots of cops.............
Brian......I will PM you.....don't want to muddy up this thread..It is to important to all of us........
By pulling out there a person would be able to get to Columbus using nothing but back roads....Avoiding the Interstates & Cin. with lots of cops.............
Brian......I will PM you.....don't want to muddy up this thread..It is to important to all of us........
07-10-2003, 09:37 AM
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The very fact that this guy already has a lawyer and an "investigative" team - give me a f'in break. He's guilty as hell - just smart enough to know he's in deep sh@t and has his lawyer buying him a bit more time as a free man. I personally love the comment about how blood and fibers are on every boat - sure - every boat that's been involved in a bloody hit and run. This guy should go away for good. Accidents can happen and do unfortunately - but you don't leave seriously injured people to cover your own incompetant ass.
