Two boaters were briefly hospitalized and two Marine Patrol officers were lucky to swim out of Lake Winnipesaukee on their own Wednesday night following an accident with an out-of-control speedboat.

The officers were responding to a distress call from boaters who were thrown overboard after their vessel collided with a rock. Upon arriving at the scene, the Marine Patrol's own craft capsized as they attempted to corral the runaway boat.

According to Fire Chief Steve Carrier, the department received a call at 10:28 p.m. Wednesday to the northern portion of Round Island.

“They had a report of people yelling for help near the shore of the island,” Carrier said. “Looks like Marine Patrol arrived and said there were multiple injuries.”

According to a press release from Marine Patrol, two individuals were found injured at the site of a “serious boating crash” and were promptly rescued.

“There was a boat that hit a rock,” explained Lt. Dennis Wade. “Two passengers were ejected, ended up in the water, that's when the 911 came in. Our officers were lucky enough to be not far from the incident.”

Wade added that neither of the passengers were wearing life jackets, and it wasn’t clear if either were wearing a kill chord, a device that tethers an operator to a kill switch on the boat that will shut down the engine if the driver is separated from the craft.

After the people who were injured were hoisted into the patrol boat, Gilford Fire sent their own watercraft to bring them to shore.

“There were two patients in a Marine Patrol boat. Our crew pulled up alongside and the patients were transferred to our boat, then transported back to the docks,” said Carrier.

As the fire department ferried the patients to shore, the two Marine Patrol officers struck out after the rogue speedboat with a patriotic paint job, which was unoccupied yet still in motion following the accident.

The passengers were transported to Concord Hospital — Laconia and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Wade explained that often, when an operator is ejected from a boat, the motor will veer in one direction, resulting in a predictable circular pattern.

“That’s not what happened,” Wade said. “This boat was moving about very erratically.”

There were plenty of camps and homes nearby, so the risk to both people and property from the rogue vessel was great. According to Marine Patrol’s press statement, the two officers got ahead of the vessel and threw a line in the water with hopes of entangling the runaway boat’s propellers and causing a stall. The first attempt failed. When the officers tried again, the watercraft “made an unexpected turn” toward the Marine Patrol vessel and capsized it, sending the two officers into the dark waters and temporarily trapping them beneath their own boat.

“They’re built not to sink,” said Wade of the patrol boats. “They have a large foam gunnel on both sides that keep the boat afloat. That worked perfectly last night.”

The officers freed themselves and the speedboat continued, dragging the upturned patrol vessel behind it. The entanglement with the Marine Patrol vessel slowed the boat down enough for good Samaritans to climb aboard and power off the vessel. The department has not yet identified the civilians, pending their permission.

“We have dealt with boats like this, though certainly not in this situation with all those factors involved,” Wade said. “At the time all the factors that did come together made it end up where there were no deaths.”

Wade said alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the incident, which is still under investigation.

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