DOVER, Idaho - As the 4th of July weekend kicks off, boaters on the Pend Oreille River are taking precautions after the tragic boating accident on Tuesday. 

Many boats hit the water early on Friday. One of them was Bill Collier's. He’s lived in Dover for 15 years and he says he’s never seen a boating accident quite like what happened on Tuesday.

“This is such a tragedy. It’s so awful and I’ve never seen these super duper, power boats out here, ever. And I know from my experience in the Bay area that they really need special attention,” Collier said. 

That power boat he’s talking about is a performance-style boat, which is exactly the same boat that was involved in the boating accident this week. 

Collier and his wife believe they saw that boat which crashed just east of Dover. 

“We were right here at the Marina and we saw that big power boat. My friends noticed the name of it and we saw it later on the news that a boat crashed, and it was that same boat.”

Collier says the weather was poor that night, and the river can be dangerous if you’re on a boat. 

“I think the exuberance got to be too much for them and he tried to go to fast in rough weather. Just my guess and then the boat flipped.”

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t yet confirmed what the cause of the accident was. 

Travis Pendell, with the Spokane Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, says boaters need to take it slow this weekend.

“Slower is safer. Keeping 100 feet distance between your boat and anything else - the shore, another vessel, if you’re creating a wake behind your boat. that’s the law,” Pendell said.

The weather toward the end of this weekend may take a turn. Collier, who’s boated for many years, says when the weather turns south, it’s time to get off the water. 

“Any time the weather starts getting bad, you need to scurry back to shore and get out of the waves and away from the wind. And if there’s a thunderstorm, you could get lightening and it could get really dicey out there. This lake is famous for from going flat calm to Chernobyl in a hurry,” Collier said. 

Deputies are still searching for the three boaters who were involved in that boating accident.