Boater injured on Flathead Lake

By NICHOLAS LEDDEN

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell attorney was in stable condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center on Monday after surviving a weekend boating accident that ultimately claimed both his kidneys.

Stephen J. Nardi, 56, was piloting his 20-foot cabin cruiser on Flathead Lake at about 8 p.m. Friday when he fell asleep and crashed into shore, according to Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Sargeant.

Nardi was diagnosed with a kidney disease nine years ago, and the combination of the disease and his medication makes him drowsy, according to Darlene Nardi, Stephen's wife.

The boat ran aground about a quarter-mile south of Mary B Island between two rock ledges, plowing its way mostly out of the water.

If the boat hadn't crashed where it did, it most likely would have sunk and Nardi might have died, Sargeant said.

After his boat crashed, Nardi regained consciousness and called 911 from his cell phone. He was still conscious when rescuers arrived, Sargeant said.

Darlene Nardi watched the entire rescue operation, which took less than an hour, from the couple's dock across the bay.

"That was nerve-wracking, to be able to see what was happening but not being able to help," she said.

After being rescued from the grounded boat, Nardi (suffering from heavy internal bleeding) was transported by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. Already enlarged by the disease, Nardi's kidneys were badly damaged in the wreck.

Doctors were forced to remove both organs to stop the bleeding, Darlene Nardi said.

Her husband recently was added to the list of people waiting for a kidney transplant, she said. After the accident, he faces dialysis treatment three times a week until a donor organ can be found.

Nardi has practiced law in Kalispell since 1974, according to a biography on his Internet site.

An experienced personal injury and criminal defense lawyer, Nardi has represented clients ranging from Steve Howe, the former New York Yankees pitcher charged with cocaine possession, to Irene Wyman, who was accused of murdering her boyfriend and was acquitted based on the "battered woman syndrome" defense.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com