Story Published:
Jul 8, 2009 at 10:07 AM CST
Story Updated:
Jul 8, 2009 at 10:07 AM CST
DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A woman is charged with manslaughter for the deaths of two people in a boat collision on the Current River. Prosecutors charged Radeena Proffer of Poplar Bluff with
involuntary manslaughter on Monday.
A young passenger and another boater died in the crash. The victims, Jerry Mote, 11, and Josh Burson, 25, were both from Poplar Bluff. They were passengers on johnboats that collided about 3:30 p.m. Sunday while traveling in opposite directions on the river near
Doniphan, just north of Arkansas.
The probable cause statement shows the Missouri State Water Patrol believes Proffer, 27, was under the influence of alcohol when she was operating a boat. After the crash, the Water Patrol said the collision was unavoidable. A spokesman said the river at the accident site is shallow and swift.
The boy's body was found on Monday a half-mile downstream from the site. Burson's body was recovered on Sunday.
