Speedboat trying to break record goes airborne, crashes at over 200 mph
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) - A speedboat attempting to break a record in Arizona became caught up in windy conditions and went airborne before crashing down into the water in an incident that was caught on camera.
People are stunned after things took a dramatic turn Saturday at the 2025 Desert Storm Shootout boating event in Lake Havasu City. Around noon, the Freedom One skater racing boat flew into the air as the boaters were racing at over 200 miles per hour in an attempt to break a record.
“We saw the race team proceed down the course, and they started out really well, nothing out of the ordinary,” said Ray Lee, the owner and publisher of Speedboat Magazine. “Then, it was about halfway, three-quarters of the way down the course, when we saw the nose start to lift.”
Video footage shows the boat flipping several times before crashing down into the water. Despite the severity of the crash, both people aboard the boat survived with only minor injuries.
Freedom One Racing is based out of Kansas City, Missouri, and was at Lake Havasu over the weekend for the Desert Storm Shootout, a boat race where teams fly through the water one at a time to see who can go the fastest.
“We built this boat to be a record breaker pretty much everywhere we go,” said Freedom One Racing boat tech Ryan Olah. “It’s as fast as you can go in that three-quarters of a mile, and they have radar guns throughout there and one at the end, so you’re really just racing against yourself.”
The First Alert weather team for Arizona’s Family says wind gusts in Lake Havasu were reported to be around 30 mph at the time of the incident.
Olah says one of the drivers suffered a broken collarbone and some banged-up ribs, while the other had a “semi-fractured” knee. The boat also suffered damage.
“Today, they’ve been in great spirits, joking around, a little bit sore and banged up, but for the most part, they’re happy,” Olah said. “The boat can be fixed. It’s all just parts and a little bit of time, so we were just glad that nobody had any major injuries.”
Freedom One Racing has a big focus on charity, raising money for local charities and organizations in the cities where they compete. In a Sunday post on social media, Olah said the team donated nearly $20,000 following the Desert Storm Shootout, which saw them take home the “King of the Desert” title despite the crash.
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