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A gust of wind and a horrific crash claimed the lives of two world class boat racers from the Lake of the Ozarks at the Key West World Championships of powerboating. Bob Morgan of Sunrise Beach and Jeffrey Tillman of Kaiser were both pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon at a Florida hospital.
Tillman and Morgan were racing Big Thunder Marine, a 46-foot Skater catamaran in the offshore event when the boat's nose began to climb into the air.
The boat was fully airborne for two seconds as it flipped backward at full speed. Its bow struck the water first, causing the top of the boat to slam into the surface of the water. The entire crash lasted 10 seconds before the vessel came to rest upside down.
Rescue divers were in the water and under the boat within one minute of the crash. Morgan and Tillman were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center. According to Super Boat International, the sanctioning body of the 31st Annual Key West World Championships, Morgan and Tillman were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
The final sentence of Super Boat International's official statement on the accident reads, "Our hearts and prayers go out to their families."
A gust of wind and a horrific crash claimed the lives of two world class boat racers from the Lake of the Ozarks at the Key West World Championships of powerboating. Bob Morgan of Sunrise Beach and Jeffrey Tillman of Kaiser were both pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon at a Florida hospital.
Tillman and Morgan were racing Big Thunder Marine, a 46-foot Skater catamaran in the offshore event when the boat's nose began to climb into the air.
The boat was fully airborne for two seconds as it flipped backward at full speed. Its bow struck the water first, causing the top of the boat to slam into the surface of the water. The entire crash lasted 10 seconds before the vessel came to rest upside down.
Rescue divers were in the water and under the boat within one minute of the crash. Morgan and Tillman were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center. According to Super Boat International, the sanctioning body of the 31st Annual Key West World Championships, Morgan and Tillman were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
The final sentence of Super Boat International's official statement on the accident reads, "Our hearts and prayers go out to their families."
