Cedar Rapids boater crashed into bridge piling on Cedar River

A Cedar Rapids man collided with a bridge piling on the Cedar River around 1 p.m. Saturday, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Cedar Rapids Fire Department crews deployed three watercraft and found a boater downstream of the Highway 100 bridge.

Witnesses indicate the man was the only person on the boat. He reportedly struck a cement structure protruding above water while operating at a speed sufficient to cause severe damage to the boat and serious injury to himself, according to a city of Cedar Rapids news release.

The Iowa DNR said in a news release that the boater was Jeffrey Mattison, 51, of Cedar Rapids, and he was boating upstream of Ellis Park when the crash occurred.

Mattison was unresponsive and was immediately transported to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics by helicopter.

The cause of the collision is unknown. The Iowa DNR is investigating the incident.

The Linn County Sheriff, Linn County Conservation Board and Cedar Rapids Fire Department assisted.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com