Two Northern California men died in a high-speed boat crash on the Colorado River near Lake Havasu on Tuesday evening, authorities said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office’s boating unit responded to the Colorado River near the Topock Gorge, just north of Lake Havasu, on Tuesday shortly before 5 p.m. for a boat crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two people were found at the scene, where one was pronounced dead and the other was taken to a hospital via a helicopter, where he died.<\/p>\n
An investigation determined a 2002 25-foot Daves Custom Boat was traveling south on the river at high speeds, deputies said, and lost control.<\/p>\n
The boat then crashed into the rock shoreline on the Arizona side of the river before coming to a stop on the California shoreline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Deputies identified the victims as 33-year-old Noah Welch and 53-year-old James Rutherford Jr., both from Roseville.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Buck Family Automotive in Carmichael posted to Facebook that Welch was part of its team and a close friend of the owner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Noah passed away doing something he truly loved: boating, and there is a small comfort in knowing he was in his element, out on the water,” the Facebook post read. \u00a0<\/p>\n