Originally published on July 16, 2021 11:46 am
Three employees of the company that operated a duck boat that sank in Branson, Missouri, killing 17 people, were charged Friday with multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
The charges come nearly three years to the day after the disaster on July 19, 2018, which occurred just 23 minutes after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area.
A crew member and 16 passengers, including nine members of a single Indianapolis family, died. Five children were among the dead.
Named in a criminal complaint filed by Stone County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby were Scott McKee, the captain of the boat, who faces 17 counts of involuntary manslaughter and 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a child; Charles Baltzell, operations supervisor for the duck boat company, who faces 17 counts of involuntary manslaughter; and Curtis Lanham, general manager of the company,
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Criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, filed nearly 3 years after Duck Boat tragedy
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The captain and two employees of a tourist duck boat that sank in a Missouri lake in July 2018, killing 17 of the 31 people aboard, have been charged by a state prosecutor, reviving the threat of long prison sentences seven months after federal charges against them were dismissed.
Captain Kenneth Scott McKee, operations supervisor Charles Baltzell and general manager Curtis Lanham were each charged this week with 17 counts of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the Ride the Ducks disaster on Table Rock Lake near the tourist mecca of Branson, in southwestern Missouri.
The boat was overwhelmed during a fast-moving thunderstorm and sank before it could make it back to shore.