Boy, 10, was driving in fatal canal crash, officials say

EPHRATA, Wash. – A 10-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that crashed into a canal south of Coulee City, killing his father and 8-year-old brother, authorities said.

Scott Kolves, of Ephrata, was teaching his 10-year-old son to drive when they were on a fishing trip March 30, Grant County sheriff’s officials said, citing interviews and evidence.

The man grabbed the wheel when the boy had trouble but couldn’t prevent the truck from leaving the canal road near Summer Falls Dam. The truck was swept away in fast-moving water about 30 feet deep.

Nearby fishermen saved the 10-year-old and his 12-year-old brother. Eight-year-old Korey Kolves was found downstream and could not be revived. A funeral for the Columbia Ridge Elementary School second-grader on Saturday was attended by more than 250 people.

Authorities were still looking for the body of Scott Kolves, iFIBER One News reported Monday.

Kolves, 45, worked as a security guard at Ephrata High School and also worked with special-needs children.

“Everybody we talk to lets us know how much he loved his sons,” Sheriff Tom Jones said in a statement. “Spending time with them – especially fishing – was the highlight of his life.”

The crash was not criminal, Jones said.