What to Know
- The victim's 18-foot Bayliner boat was on Greenwood Lake in West Milford Township when it was rammed by another boat Sept. 5
- 72-year-old Edwin Lane and 76-year-old Robert Roon were seriously injured in the crash, and Lane later died
- A $5,000 reward is being offered for information in the hit-and-run
The 72-year-old man seriously hurt when a boat operator slammed into the boat he was on with his wife and another couple last month has died, New Jersey State Police confirmed Wednesday.
Police say Edwin Lane, of West Milford, died of his injuries over the weekend. He and his friend, 76-year-old Robert Roon, of Newfoundland, were hospitalized with serious injuries after a boat slammed into the 18-foot Bayliner boat they were on in Greenwood Lake with their wives Sept. 5.
Their wives, 74-year-old Mary Lane and 70-year-old Eileen Roon, were not badly hurt in the crash. The boat operator who hit them sped off.
Maureen Lane told NBC 4 New York after the boating hit-run that her husband was unconscious and had blood gurgling out of his head. She said it had been a calm night, with no one else on the water, before their boat was hit.
Authorities say the other boat may have gone airborne before speeding off. But no one's certain what hit them or where it went because of the low visibility.
Police have said they believe the boat the couples were in was going the legal limit at 15 mph, with its lights on. Whoever hit them was going much faster than that and never slowed down, they said.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information in the hit-and-run.
