Sophia's Law would require large boats to have CO detectors on board

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - A family that suffered a tragedy because of carbon monoxide is behind a new bill making its way through the state Legislature.

8-year-old Sophia Baechler died from carbon monoxide poisoning during a boating trip on Lake Minnetonka last fall. The carbon monoxide had leaked from a hole in an exhaust manifold and overcame everyone on board.

READ THE STORY – Sophia Baechler’s carbon monoxide death linked to hole in boat exhaust

“I found her on the floor of the cabin bedroom,” Dr. Benjamin Baechler, Sophia’s father, told state lawmakers Tuesday. “I picked my little girl’s lifeless body in my arms. I knew right away what it was. There was no different diagnosis. I knew it was carbon monoxide. I knew it right from the start.”

The bill, dubbed Sophia’s Law, would require marine carbon monoxide detectors on all covered motorboats longer than 16 feet. The bill passed committees in both the House and the Senate on Tuesday.