One dead, 5 injured after suspected drunk boater causes collision

TACOMA, Wash. — Prosecutors say a drunk man, with several passengers aboard his boat, sped into a married couple’s boat after a fireworks display Saturday night in Tacoma.

One man aboard the driver’s boat hasn’t been found and is presumed dead.

The married couple, Vicki and Robert Brown, were hospitalized.

"My mom even told me, she said, I was afraid I was going to die,” said Robynn Bradshaw, daughter of the victims.

"I'm pretty sure my mom was knocked out of the boat and her arm was sucked into the propeller,” added Bradshaw, who spoke to KIRO 7 Monday outside Harborview where her mother is recovering.

The alleged drunk driver of the other boat, Joshua Puckett, waived his first appearance in Pierce County court Monday.

But according to documents, his boat was going about 40 to 45 miles per hour when he hit the Browns in the water near Point Defiance Park.

Authorities say he "reeked of alcohol" and they found several alcohol bottles in his boat after it was towed to shore.

"I cannot believe that somebody would be so irresponsible to think it's OK to drive drunk on the water,” said Bradshaw.

All four people in Puckett's boat ended up in the water after the crash.

Coast Guard officials called off the search for one of his passengers, Douglas Foster, who is now presumed dead.

Bradshaw says her family has been through something similar before.

"My mom actually lost her sister in a drunk driving accident, when she was 16. And so my parents they don't drink alcohol at all,” said Bradshaw.

Now, Bradshaw is left hoping her parents recover--and hoping the suspected driver is punished.

KIRO