A motorboat operated by a Massachusetts man struck and killed a 32-year-old Lincolnville woman who was swimming in Damariscotta Lake around 8:45 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 2.
Kristen A. McKellar, 32, was swimming with a friend at the time of the incident, according to a press release from Maine Warden Service Sgt. Aaron Cross. Jonathan D. Roberts, 43, of Waban, Mass., was operating the motorboat.
Authorities did not release any information on the cause of the incident. The Maine Warden Service is investigating.
On Tuesday, Aug. 7, Maine Warden Service spokesman Cpl. John MacDonald said the agency does not expect to release more information until the end of the week at the earliest. When it completes its investigation, it will turn its findings over to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office.
Roberts and his passengers immediately attempted to render aid to McKellar and brought her to shore, according to the press release.
In an email, Jefferson Fire Chief Walter Morris said that when he arrived on scene about four minutes after the page, he saw a motorboat about 50 yards offshore with several people, including the victim, on board.
Morris said the boat’s engine would not start and the boat was being paddled to shore, while a neighbor paddled his kayak out to the boat and helped guide the boat to a dock.
Morris said a man on the boat began CPR on McKellar while the boat was being rowed to the dock. Once she was ashore, Jefferson emergency medical technicians and firefighters moved her from the boat to the dock and continued CPR.
Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services paramedics assisted 14 EMTs and firefighters from Jefferson Fire as they continued CPR and other emergency medical procedures, according to Morris.
“Despite their efforts, the victim succumbed to her injuries,” Morris said in the email.
Lincoln County Communications paged Jefferson units to Bird Lane in Jefferson at 8:46 p.m. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Maine Warden Service, and Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services also responded to the scene.
Jefferson Fire and Rescue “remained on scene for approximately three hours to comfort the families involved in this tragic incident and to assist the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Warden Service with their investigation,” Morris said in the email.
