3 bodies found after boats collide on Georgia river, officials say. Death toll now 5
Update: The five people killed in the crash were identified Sunday, May 29, as 51-year-old Christopher David Leffler of Savannah, 50-year-old Lori Lynn Leffler of Savannah, 37-year-old Robert Steven Chauncey of Savannah, 23-year-old Zachary James Leffler of Alpharetta and 17-year-old Nathan Leffler of Savannah, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said.
The original story is below:
Five people are dead after two boats crashed into each other on a Georgia river over Memorial Day weekend, officials said.
At 10:42 a.m. Saturday, May 28, a “good Samaritan” reported that two boats, one carrying six people and one carrying three, collided just north of Thunderbolt Marina on the Wilmington River, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard. The person reported that multiple people were overboard.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources told McClatchy News in an email on Sunday, May 29. Four others were taken to a hospital with “various injuries.”
The Coast Guard posted a video of its aircrew pulling one patient out of the water.
The Coast Guard said on the evening of May 28 that three people — a 37-year-old male and two “early 20-year-old” males — were missing. Their bodies were found around 9 a.m. May 29 in 14 feet of water and in “close proximity to each other,” the Georgia DNR said.
“The identities of those involved is being withheld pending notification of family,” the department said. “The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation by Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Critical Incident Reconstruction Team (CIRT). The investigation may take 6-8 weeks.”
Thunderbolt Marina is about 6 miles outside of Savannah.
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