Four seriously injured in boating accident
Four people sustained serious injuries in a single-boat accident at 12:30 a.m. Monday in Benton County.
According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Ryan T. Johnson, 41, of Paola, Kansas, was driving a boat west at the Lake of the Ozarks near the 85 mile marker when his vessel traveled aground and struck a tree.
Three passengers in the boat, Jonelle M. Frederico, 41, of Grain Valley, Joseph E. Knecht, 37, of Paola, Kansas, and Andrew T. Wachtel, 35, of Kansas City, were all taken by air ambulance to University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia for their injuries. A fourth passenger, Stephanie L. Knecht, 37, of Paola, Kansas, was taken by air ambulance to Research Medical Center in Kansas City for her injuries.
Johnson was arrested for boating while intoxicated and negligent operation of a watercraft.
