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OGDEN — Witnesses say the three boaters involved in a fatal accident on Pineview Reservoir in August smoked marijuana and drank alcohol prior to the accident, according to new court documents.
Esther Fujimoto, an avid swimmer and accomplished molecular biologist at the University of Utah, was hit and killed by a boat Aug. 21 while swimming 200 to 300 feet offshore. Witnesses reported three men in the boat stopped and appeared to talk to Fujimoto shortly after the accident but then drove off and did not return.
In newly released search warrant affidavits, the three boaters were identified as Skyler Shepard, 22-year-old Colton Raines and 29-year-old Robert Cole Boyer.
The Weber County attorney is waiting on forensic evidence results before it's decided if charges will be filed. KSL spoke to Greg Skordas, the attorney for two of the men being named as suspects in the case. He said no crime has been committed.
"I can tell you that we have made every effort to cooperate with police," said Skordas. "We will cooperate with that investigation, but I don't see a crime having been committed here."
Skordas represents Colton Raines and Cole Boyer, two of the three men police say were on the boat that hit and killed University of Utah biologist Esther Fujimoto on August 21.
There's never been any dispute over who police suspected to be involved in this," he said.
Skordas won't talk about how Raines and Boyer were involved in the fatal accident, but according to search warrant affidavits, the owner of the boat, Skyler Shepherd, told investigators that Raines was driving the boat when it hit Fujimoto. A witness also told investigators that the three men stopped at asked Fujimoto if she was OK before taking off.
If that is the case, then why did the men not come forward right away?
"It's not like they have been hiding out, but as an attorney I don't have much choice but to tell them don't give a statement yet until we sort things out until we have an understanding from police and the country attorney as to where this is going," Skordas said.
They did not come forward. We found out who they were from the course of the investigation and tips. They never contacted us to say they were involved in the incident - we found them.
–Lt. Mark Lowther
He also said that the two of the men contacted him days after the accident, and that from the beginning they have been cooperating with the investigation. Investigators however, say that's not exactly the case.
"They did not come forward. We found out who they were from the course of the investigation and tips. They never contacted us to say they were involved in the incident - we found them," said Lt. Mark Lowther with the Weber County Sheriff's Office. "All I can say is we've contacted their attorney several times and he has not made them available to the sheriff's office for an interview as of today."
Even though police have not interviewed Raines or Boyer, they have taken blood samples from them. According to a witness who was on the lake with the men the day of the accident - the two of them were using marijuana and drinking alcohol.
Skordas said his clients told him that's not true.
"Our understanding is that neither of our clients were under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, that they didn't cause the accident and that they didn't leave the scene of an accident."
Investigators said all three men on the boat are being investigated in this case - and so all three could face charges of negligence and leaving the scene of an accident. If charges are filed, we're told it could happen in the next week or two.
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Written by Shara Park with contributions from Pat Reavy.
