Body recovered from Columbia Point Marina. A fisherman saw headlights under the water

A Colorado businessman died after his rental car plunged into the river at the Columbia Point Marina in Richland early Wednesday.

Benton County Coroner Bill Leach identified the man as 55-year-old William Badger of Greenwood Village, Colo.

“At this point, everything appears to be an accident,” said Leach, who ruled his death as a drowning.

Just after midnight Wednesday, a fisherman called 911 after seeing car headlights under the water when he pulled his boat up to the dock.

Leach said Badger was not familiar with the area and might have been lost.

It’s likely he was driving down Columbia Point Drive, pulled into the parking lot and mistook the boat launch and dock area for a highway ramp, Leach said.

Badger’s LinkedIn profile says he was a director with Amentum’s business development and national security divisions.

Amentum is the lead owner of two major cleanup contractors at the Hanford nuclear site — Washington River Protection Solutions and Central Plateau Cleanup Co.

The coroner’s office has sent out for a toxicology report to see if drugs or alcohol may have played a role. Results are expected back in three to four weeks.

This appears to be the second time in recent years that someone has accidentally driven down the Columbia Point Marina boat launch.

In 2017, an elderly Richland woman left a nearby restaurant after finishing dinner with her family and drove her car down the boat ramp and into the Columbia River.

Although she was rescued by a Richland police officer and observers, she died that night at a nearby hospital.