A Sunday ride on the Meramec River turned into a serious scare when a jet boat crashed into a rock bluff near Bourbon, sending eight people, including four children, to area hospitals on July 19. The crash happened around 2 p.m. on a stretch of river in Crawford County, upstream from the Campbell Bridge access, and left victims ranging from a toddler to adults in their 30s injured, with at least one person suffering serious injuries.
Crash report details
According to a crash report cited by KSDK, a 2019 Shoal Runner jet boat first hit an underwater rock, then drifted into a rock bluff and struck it. All eight people on board, the driver and seven passengers, were hospitalized. The report places the crash roughly two miles upstream from the Campbell Bridge access.
The report lists a range of injuries: a 30-year-old woman with serious injuries; two men in their 30s with moderate injuries; the 34-year-old driver with minor injuries; and four children, ages 3, 9, 10 and 12, who suffered minor injuries. The children were wearing life vests at the time of the crash.
Where it happened and response
The collision occurred on the Meramec River in Crawford County, upriver from the Campbell Bridge access, a public boat launch and concrete ramp south of Bourbon, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Local emergency crews and county responders made their way to the riverside crash site and transported the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Boating safety and state context
State and federal data continue to highlight the risks that come with recreational river boating. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Water Patrol investigates boating incidents across the state, while the U.S. Coast Guard reports that most drowning victims in recreational boating incidents were not wearing life jackets. Officials routinely urge boaters to pay close attention to river depth and underwater hazards, carry required safety gear, and keep personal flotation devices on children and other vulnerable passengers.
State troopers and local agencies say investigations into the Meramec River crash are ongoing, and officials have not released the names of those involved. For now, the initial crash report remains the primary source of information as authorities work through what went wrong on the water.
