Excessive speed blamed for deadly boat crash in Missouri

CAMDEN, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are blaming excessive speed for a boat crash that killed three people from Kansas at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.

Ashley Lamb and Hailey Marie Hochanadel- photo courtesy GoFundMe

The Missouri State Highway Patrol released its crash reconstruction report more than three months after a 1991 Regal Runabout slammed into a rock bluff in the early morning hours of May 19. The report also said the “nighttime conditions” played a role, and noted that the boat lacked navigation aids, such as a chart plotter or GPS unit.

First responders working the fatal accident -photo courtesy Missouri State Highway Patrol

The crash killed 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel. LeMark and Lewis were from Overland Park, Kansas; and Hochanadel was from Olathe, Kansas. Two others including Ashley Lamb, 22, a senior at Kansas State University were injured.

Toxicology and autopsy reports have not yet been released.