Two young children and two adults were killed after their small boat, which was carrying six people, hit a Kentucky dam on the Ohio River.
Four-year-old Emma Strawser, 2-year-old Xavier Lopez, 40-year-old Tina Rodriguez and 40-year-old Frank Rosario were killed. The bodies of Lopez and Rodriguez were found on Sunday.
Strawser and Rosario died Friday night, according to Local 6, an NBC affiliate. Emma’s mother, 23-year-old Amber McIntosh, and Rosario’s daughter, 22-year-old Maria Rodriguez, survived. They were pulled out by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees.
The family was boating on the Ohio River Friday night when their boat hit Dam 52, causing it to capsize. All of those aboard were thrown into the water, according to The Southern.
Authorities said none of the occupants were wearing life vests and that the currents near the dam were often stronger than they appeared.
“There are a lot of strong currents. It’s just a very, very, dangerous location to be in on a boat,” McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden told Local 6.
McCracken County Emergency Management Director Jerome Mansfield said there’s a warning sign, but at night the full length of the dam can be difficult to see.
“The current in the river can be deceptive. It can be much swifter and deadlier than it appears on the surface. Plus around Dam 52 area — on low dam, as it’s called — that type of facility can have a very treacherous and powerful current. It can cause a tremendous pull on a boat going through,” Mansfield said on Saturday.
Rodriguez’s brother, Ronald Przybylo, was one of many family members who stood by the water in solidarity this weekend.
“We lost a lot of phenomenal people this weekend and they’re going to be truly missed,” Przybylo said.
