Chatsworth Man's Boat Cuts Rowing Shell in Half

A woman was airlifted to a hospital Sunday after a motor boat captained by a Chatsworth man split a rowing shell in half in Marina Del Rey, sheriff's officials said.

The driver of the motorized vessel, Peter Sorrento, was cited for failure to follow established boating rules, Sgt. B. Carlson of the Marina Del Rey sheriff's station said.

Witnesses told KCBS2 that "a 25-foot motorized boat slammed into a outrigger vessel with a nine-person crew. The outrigger — belonging to a beginner’s group with the L.A. Rowing Club, was cut in half."

The crash happened at 8:20 a.m. in the Marina Del Rey Main Channel, Carlson said.

• See KCBS2 and KCAL9 videos here.

"The driver and sole occupant of the motorized vessel collided with the non-motorized outrigger vessel with nine occupants on board," Carlson said in a statement. "Due to the collision, the outrigger vessel was completely split in half."

Witnesses quoted Sorrento as saying he never saw the outrigger, according to KCBS2.

Rescuers pulled one woman, a Riverside resident, from the water and she was air-lifted to a local hospital where she was treated for unspecified injuries and released, Carlson said.

-- City News Service contributed to this report.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter