Lake of the Ozarks, MO — The explosion that injured three people and destroyed a boat happened as the driver was starting the engines, the Missouri State Highway Patrol says.
A report released by the Patrol on Sunday evening gave further detail about the incident at a gas dock on the 1.8 Mile Marker. The incident reportedly occurred at Point Randall Resort, where 55-year-old Dennis Kiely, of O’Fallon, Mo., was starting the engines on his 2005 33-foot Formula, after refueling. According to the report, Kiely started the first engine, then the second engine, and after starting the second engine, the boat exploded.
Dennis Kiely was reportedly thrown from the boat into the water, sustaining minor injuries. Meanwhile, 52-year-old Debra Kiely had been standing on the dock, the Patrol reported, and she was also thrown into the water by the blast. An employee at the gas dock, 20-year-old Megan Bartels, of Montreal, Mo., sustained minor injuries but was not thrown into the water, the Patrol says.
The boat began to drift and was pushed away from the gas dock, where it burned to the waterline, according to the report. Debra Kiely was flown to University Hospital for treatment of her serious injuries. Dennis Kiely was taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital, and Bartels was taken to Lake Regional by private vehicle.
The boat was towed by Lake Tow.