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Police: 2 killed in boat accident on Potomac River

WASHINGTON — Two men were killed after they fell out of a 36-foot catamaran on the Potomac River on Saturday, according to Maryland Natural Resources police.

Police identified the boaters as James A. Melley, 49, of Buford, Georgia, and Garth Thomas Tagge, 61, of Atlanta. A police spokesman said they were doing a time trial and lost control of boat.

The crash happened at around noon, near Fairview Beach in King George County, Virginia. The bow of the boat rose in the water, went end over end, and the two men were ejected.

The spokesman said that the boat had an open cockpit and was capable of traveling 190 miles per hour. It’s unclear how fast the boat was travelling at the time of the accident.

WTOP’S Daniel Weintraub contributed to this report.

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