Buford, Cumming Boat Racers Killed in Crash on the Potomac

BUFORD, GA — Two boaters from Buford and Cumming were killed in a weekend accident on the Potomac River, authorities say.

The crash, which happened during a boat racing event Saturday, killed James Melley, 49, of Buford, and Garth Tagge, 61, of Cumming, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

The Potomac River Radar Run was being held near Fairview Beach, Virginia, about 60 miles from Washington, D.C.

According to Maryland authorities, the two men were in a 36-foot, high-performance catamaran making their second run of the day. In the first, they had been clocked at 185 mph, said Candy Thomson, spokeswoman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

"They were on their second run and the nose of the boat caught some air and began to lift out of the water," Thomson said. "The crew lost control and it flipped end over end and they were ejected at a high rate of speed."

A nearby fire boat responded and its crew attempted CPR, but both men were determined to be already dead, Thomson said. She said medical authorities ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest for both men, and say they likely were killed on impact.

The crash happened shortly before noon on Saturday.

Melley is believed to have been the driver during the crash and Tagge was controlling the throttle.

The crash remains under investigation by Maryland Natural Resources Police. The racing event was not sanctioned by either state or federal authorities, Thomson said.

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