CLAREMONT — Jeff Sessions, the CEO of Claremont-based Red River computer company, was killed along with his wife in a boating accident in Maryland early Wednesday morning.

According to the Capital Gazette newspaper, Sessions, 53, and Elizabeth Howle, 48, of Reston, Va., were riding on a personal watercraft on the South River about 1:45 a.m. when they hit an unlighted navigational device called a day marker.

Witnesses reported hearing a crash and then called 911 at about 2:30 a.m. when Sessions and Howle did not return, the newspaper said. Emergency personnel responded and discovered the 2019 Sea-Doo personal watercraft with significant damage. The couple’s bodies were found several hours later. Neither was wearing a life jacket.

Red River announced Sessions’ death in a statement released Friday.

“Jeff led our company with intelligence, humor, integrity and passion,” the statement said. “The contributions he made to the transformation of our business cannot be measured.”

Sessions joined Red River in 2007 as the company’s first vice president of sales and later served as president before being named chief executive officer in 2017, succeeding Rick Bolduc, one of the company’s founders. Bolduc, executive chairman of the company’s board of directors, will serve as acting CEO.

Red River is an information technology contractor and computer equipment supplier to the U.S. government, the military and civilian agencies. Its corporate headquarters are in a redeveloped mill building on Claremont’s Water Street, and the company has locations around the country, including in Reston, Va.; Boston; Texas; New York; and California.

Ed Levens, a media spokesperson for the company, said Sessions worked in the Reston office.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

Correction

This story has been updated to correct the location of the accident.

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