1 man dead after collision between 2 fishing boats on Bartlett Lake

PHOENIX – Authorities are investigating the cause of a collision between two fishing boats on Bartlett Lake that left one man dead Monday morning.

Matthew Burlington, 65, was traveling northbound in his Nitro bass boat, contrary to the traffic pattern, on the west side of the lake before the fatal crash, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Tuesday.

Burlington’s vessel veered into the path of a southbound bass boat operated by two men, ages 61 and 72, according to the release.

The second boat couldn’t evade the Nitro and ramped over it, MCSO said.

All three men were thrown from their boats. Burlington was killed, and the other two men, who were wearing flotation devices, sustained minor injuries.

MCSO ruled out impairment as a factor, but the cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Bartlett Lake, a Verde River reservoir in Tonto National Forest, is a popular recreation spot around 60 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix.

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