The victim of a fatal boat collision Sept. 17 on the Colorado River near Parker was a laborer and construction worker from California who was riding a Sea-Doo when he was killed, his family says.
Manuel Martinez, who had recently turned 46, had a 13-year-old son and a fiancé, Martinez's sister Marlene Martinez told The Arizona Republic in a telephone interview Sept. 21.
Manuel Martinez lived in Long Beach and had planned to spend the weekend in Parker, Arizona. The collision occurred on the first day of their trip, Marlene Martinez said. The La Paz County Sheriff's Office saidthe collision occurred at 4:04 p.m. near the dock area of the Pirates Den Resort.
Manuel Martinez, on the Sea-Doo, was struck by a boat driven by Lovro Paulic, 55. The sheriff's
office did not give an address for Paulic, but public records show he has an address in Glendale, Arizona. Sheriff's officials only said that neither Manuel Martinez nor Paulic was a La Paz County resident.
Investigators say alcohol "is believed" to have been a contributing factor in the crash and booked Paulic into the La Paz County Jail on a charge of manslaughter. Paulic was released Sept. 18 after posting $5,000 bail, according to the jail and court records. No lawyer was listed for Paulic and efforts to reach Paulic were unsuccessful.
"I wasn't there. I just know that it happened Thursday afternoon. He was on a Sea-Doo and a boat struck him," Marlene Martinez said about her older brother. "We're still trying to gather more details, and witnesses. We don't know too many details about what happened and no one else was with him."
Marlene Martinez said she'd heard that her brother wasn't moving when he was struck, though that fact has not been confirmed. La Paz County sheriff's officials did not respond to The Arizona Republic's requests for more details.
Manuel was "always very cautious when driving in general," and Marlene Martinez said the incident is both baffling and shocking to her grief-stricken family. She said that Manuel Martinez and his fiancé, Catrina Sanchez, owned two Sea-Doos and were familiar with how to operate them. Sanchez, who created a GoFundMeto raise money to cover funeral expenses, declined comment on Sept. 21.
"We are trying to support each other. My mom is not doing well," Marlene Martinez said, adding that Sanchez and Manuel's son are having a hard time, too.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: California Sea-Doo rider fatally struck by boat on the Colorado River
