Judge dismisses charges for duck boat tragedy
GALENA, Mo. — A judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against three men prosecuted after a tourist boat sank and killed 17 people during a 2018 Missouri storm.
The boat was swamped by waves caused by strong winds shortly after it entered Table Rock Lake near Branson on July 19, 2018. Riders from Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas were killed. Fourteen people survived.
Prosecutors last year charged Kenneth Scott McKee, 54, the captain of the vessel known as a duck boat; Curtis P. Lanham, 39, the general manager at Ride the Ducks in Branson; and Charles V. Baltzell, 79, the operations supervisor who was a manager on duty the night the boat sank, each with 17 counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
While Stone County Judge Alan Blankenship said the men - amphibious boat staff - were aware of the storm, he said there's no evidence that they knew about the storm’s “gust front,” KYTV-TV reported.
Read more: https://www.kmbc.com/article/judge-dismisses-charges-for-branson-missouri-duck-boat-tragedy/39642903