Photo: Coleman Family
The captain of a duck boat that capsized in Missouri in July, resulting in the deaths of 17 people, has been indicted for the passengers’ deaths, according to reports Thursday.
The crash, which resulted in the sinking of the vessel, occurred on Thursday, July 19, in Table Rock Lake outside Branson, Missouri.
Thirty-one people were on a Ride the Ducks boat in the Ozarks when strong winds caused it to capsize, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said in apress conference.
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Rader said at least seven people were transported to the hospital with injuries and authorities found 17 bodies during the rescue and recovery mission that continued into Friday.
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Rader said he believed the boat turned over and sunk due to the stormy weather at about 8 p.m. with the thunderstorm winds as high as 60 mph,according toNBC News.
Tia recounted the terrifying experience of trying to escape the sinking boat, saying she “couldn’t see anybody, I couldn’t hear anything.”
RELATED VIDEO: Duck Boat Survivor Tia Coleman Recounts Heartbreaking Horror of Family Drowning
“I couldn’t hear screams, it felt like I was out there on my own,” she said. “And I was yelling, screaming and finally, I said, ‘Lord, just let me die, let me die, I can’t keep drowning, I just can’t keep drowning.’ And then I just let go.”
Tia lost her husband and their three children, aged 9, 7 and 1, in the incident as well as her parents-in-law.
Among the others who died wereJanice Bright, 63, and William Bright, 65, who were celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary; William Asher, 69, of St. Louis, Missouri, and his girlfriend Rosemarie Hamann, 68; father and son, Steve Smith, 53, and Lance Smith, 15; Leslie Dennison, 65; and the duck boat’s driver Bob Williams.
source: people.com
