Pleasant Valley man charged in fatal August 2020 Iowa boat crash
Craig Verbeke and Anita Pinc
LeCLAIRE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials have charged a Pleasant Valley man with manslaughter in a boating crash last summer on the Mississippi River that killed two people.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a news release Tuesday that 44-year-old James Thiel has been charged with two felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, two misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count of reckless use of a watercraft and operation of an unregistered watercraft.
Officials say Thiel turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning. Authorities say Thiel owned and was aboard a 35-foot center-console boat that crashed into a 19-foot ski boat on Aug. 16.