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Wabasha community mourns fatal boat crash
The Wabasha community is mourning after three people were killed in a pontoon crash on Lake Pepin. Authorities say the pontoon flipped over following a crash with another vessel. FOX 9’s Soyoung Kim has the latest details.
LAKE PEPIN, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities have released the names of the three people recovered from Lake Pepin, including two Wabasha firefighters, after a weekend search that followed a deadly collision between a boat and a commercial vessel late Saturday night.
Lake Pepin victims identified
What we know:
In a joint news release, the Pepin County, Wis. and Wabasha County, Minn. sheriff's offices released the identities of the three victims in the deadly crash. They have been identified as:
- Ashley Monson, 37, of Wabasha, Minn.
- Manuel De Angel-Sola, 52, Wabasha, Minn.
- Nicholas Loechler, 46, Wabasha, Minn.
De Angel-Sola and Loechler both served as Wabasha firefighters. In statements on Monday, the city mourned the loss of all three victims in the crash.
A statement from the city read: "Over the weekend, we lost three exceptional community members in a tragic boating accident. They were colleagues, friends, neighbors. We are grieving this terrible loss, with the three survivors, their families, loved ones, and friends."
A vigil was held on Monday to remember the victims.
Lake Pepin boat crash
The backstory:
Deputies said they responded shortly before midnight to 911 calls about a boat crash just offshore from the YMCA Camp on Deer Island.
Crews were told a 27-foot pontoon boat had overturned, leaving three people clinging to the side of the vessel and three others missing. The Coast Guard tells FOX 9 they received a report that the pontoon boat had collided with a commercial barge before overturning.
Crews searched the lake over the next day for the three missing victims. Their bodies were ultimately recovered Sunday afternoon.
Local perspective:
Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake along the Mississippi River in southern Minnesota.