Lake of the Ozarks, MO – A boat exploded after refueling near the Grand Glaize Bridge on Saturday, and authorities have released the name of the man who was killed and the three boaters injured.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 53-year-old Shawn Carroll, of Richmond Heights, Mo., was killed in the explosion of the 1999 Sea Ray.
Divers searched the area after it was determined Carroll was missing, but the Patrol says Carroll’s body was eventually found in the engine compartment area.
According to boaters floating at the scene, documenting events with photos and video, it took a minimum of 35 minutes between the explosion and 3:58 p.m., when Missouri State Highway Patrol boats were the first arrived on the scene. Fireboats arrived sometime after the fire was largely extinguished.
As the boat, engulfed in flames, floated toward a marina dock at Formula Boats of Missouri (before emergency personnel arrived), two riders on personal watercraft put themselves in harm’s way to fishtail and spray water onto the fire, also changing the trajectory of the vessel into a rocky shoreline, saving the marina dock, and allowing firefighters on land to reach the blaze from Formula’s parking lot.
It is currently unclear who pulled the three other injured boaters from the water:
-52-year-old Brent Soloman, of Osage Beach, Mo., was reportedly driving the boat, according to the Highway Patrol report. Soloman had minor injuries and was transported to Lake Regional Hospital by private conveyance
-47-year-old Benjamin Dodd, of St. Louis, Mo. Dodd had serious injuries and was transported by EMS to Lake Regional Hospital.
-37-year-old Lauren Wilken, of St. Louis, Mo. Wilken had serious injuries and was transported by EMS to Lake Regional Hospital.
The Patrol says the 1999 Sea Ray exploded after it filled up at a nearby marina and then restarted its engines.
