Hit-and-Run Suspected in Death of Jet Skier at Lake : Accident: Glendora man, 51, may have been hit by another user of the 400-pound machines, which are prohibited in some California cities.

A 51-year-old Glendora man was killed while jet skiing at Castaic Lake State Recreation Area on Sunday in an apparent hit-and-run accident that may have been caused by another jet skier who fled after the crash, authorities said.

Louie Ronald Ellis was found floating in the water about 10:15 a.m. by an unidentified friend who accompanied him to the lake, said Steve Henrickson, a supervisor at the county-run state park.

Ellis was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by an emergency room physician, said Deputy Brian Jones of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Jones said homicide detectives were investigating a tip that another skier may have struck Ellis’ craft and fled.

It was the first boating fatality of the season at the park and the third since the recreational facility opened in 1972. In 1992, a Foster City woman died when she was accidentally hit by a jet ski driven by her boyfriend.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives suspect that Ellis may have collided with another rider in the upper part of the lake, Jones said. That area--about one mile long, 1/2-mile wide and 200 to 300 feet deep--was roped off for the exclusive use of jet ski riders in 1987 due to safety concerns, Henrickson said.

Castaic was one of the first state-owned parks to designate an area for jet skiers.

Henrickson said there were between 40 and 50 jet skiers in the water at the time of the accident but none said they saw or heard the accident. He said there was damage to Ellis’ jet ski but he could not determine if the damage was caused by a previous accident.

“This was an unusual incident, but we do have a lot of fender-benders with these things,” he said. In a 1992 interview, Henrickson said: “Their mode of operation is to go wild.”

Henrickson said Ellis, who weighed about 250 pounds, might have suffered a medical trauma while aboard his Sea-Doo watercraft because he saw no sign of a physical injury.

“There were no visible wounds on him whatsoever,” Henrickson said. “We all think we know things conclusively by the evidence in hand, and it turns out to be totally wrong. I think when they finish with an autopsy, it will reveal a lot.”

Jet skis have been prohibited in several California cities, including Malibu in 1992, after complaints arose about the 400-pound, smoke-blowing machines, which became popular in the 1980s.

Boaters, surfers and other beach-goers complain that some jet ski riders share the aggressiveness that motivates some off-road riders to attempt dangerous stunts.

Currently there is no state law regulating the use of the 50-horsepower machines, other than that the driver must be over 12 years of age.

In recent years, manufacturers have begun offering training to jet ski owners to reduce accidents.