CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. -- Three friends from Johnson County died Saturday when the boat they were riding in crashed.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F responded to a boating accident early Saturday morning at Lake of the Ozarks.
According to the highway patrol, a boat struck a rock bluff at about 1:45 in the morning. Two people died at the scene and two others were transported to the hospital with unknown injuries. A fifth person was reported missing. That victim was recovered by the Missouri State Highway Patrol dive team later in the morning.
The three individuals who died are 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, of Overland Park, Kan., 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel, of Olathe, Kan., and 23-year-old Joseph Lemark, also of Overland Park.
Passenger Ashley Lamb, 21, of Olathe Kan. suffered serious injuries and the driver of the boat, 22-year-old Hayden Frazier, of Overland Park, Kan. suffered from moderate injuries.
Belinda Manos who lives near where the bodies were recovered says she heard a noise in the middle of the night, but when she went outside to check she didn’t see anything and went back to bed.
"Sometimes you get people here that don't know the lake, they travel too fast, it's dark, unfortunately, those things do happen down here it's very very sad,” said Manos, who is a seasonal resident at Lake of the Ozarks.
Missouri State Highway Patrol is still investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash, but they do know that no one was wearing a life vest.
"We definitely want to remind people to make sure that they are paying attention if they do go out at nighttime make sure they're familiar with the lake. Have a sober captain and then especially at night make sure everybody is wearing those life jackets because the thing about emergencies is you can't predict when something is going to happen,” said Sgt. Scott White.
Saturday was the start of National Safe Boating Week, Sgt. White says she is a tragic reminder of why boat safety is so important.
The Highway Patrol arrested Frazier on three counts of boating while intoxicated that led to the death of another, boating while intoxicated that led to serious injury, and negligent operation of a vessel.
An arrest report indicated Frazier was being held in the Camden County Jail.
