No simple accident: Family blames boat driver for womans death on Willamette River [Video]

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – A young woman’s family is sharing her story after she was taken too soon in an accident on the Willamette River over the weekend. Relatives say she was riding in an innertube while being pulled by a boat, and begged the driver of the boat to slow down.

“She was so innocent and taken so violently because of someone else’s decision to be reckless,” said Aliyah Seidel, who lost her 24-year-old sister, Kaileigh, on Saturday. “We definitely feel her not being here. It’s a hole in all of our hearts, it’s so quiet.”

Aliyah said she used to tease Kaileigh for being loud. Aliyah describes her as a great friend, sister, and dog mom who made everyone around her feel loved.

“I wish that I could be more like her. Everything that I wasn’t she was,” Aliyah said. “We were so similar but so different.”

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