Woman killed in boating wreck was music teacher in Bellevue

The 37-year-old woman who was killed when a speedboat rammed into an anchored sailboat on Lake Washington was identified this morning as music teacher Heather DeHart of Bothell.

Witnesses said a motorboat, piloted by a 17-year-old boy, was traveling at a high rate of speed before it struck the stationary sailboat Saturday night, Seattle police said.

The 17-year-old, his 16-year-old passenger and a 45-year-old man aboard the sailboat were taken to Harborview Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries. A third man on the sailboat was uninjured, police said.

Seattle police and fire officials said DeHart was thrown from the sailboat and killed on impact when the motorboat collided with the rear end of the sailboat around 8:45 p.m.

The teenage driver, whose name has not been released, was questioned and released, Witt said.

Records show that DeHart was a music teacher at Tyee Middle School in the Bellevue School District.

The accident occurred west of Mercer Island, off the 4500 block of Lake Washington Boulevard South near Seattle's Seward Park. Police did not say whether the crash was within 100 yards of the shoreline, where the speed limit is 7 knots, or 8 mph.

Witt said witnesses on shore said the motorboat hit the sailboat, went up over the back of it and struck the woman. Witt said witnesses told police the sailboat was anchored at the time of the crash. She did not know whether its lights were on, making it visible to other boats.

Seattle police are still investigating the accident.

Last year, more than 26 people died in boating accidents in Washington state, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Boaters between the ages of 12 and 20 are required to take a one-time basic boating-safety class to obtain the Boating Safety Education Card required by the state. The law, which eventually will apply to everyone born after Jan. 1, 1955, applies to anyone who operates a boat powered by a motor with at least 15 horsepower.

It wasn't immediately known whether the teen driver had taken the course.

Christine Clarridge can be reached at cclarridge@seattletimes.com or at 206-464-8983