Teen thrown from boat and run over in deadly boating crash, Louisiana officials say

Tanasia Kenney
·2 min read
8

A teen girl was thrown into the water and killed when the boat she was on hit the wake of another boat on the Fourth of July, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Madison Bradley, 17, of Slidell, was among six people on board a pontoon boat that set out on the Blind River when she fell overboard, officials said. LDWF and several law enforcement agencies arrived to the area around 5:40 p.m. after getting word about a missing boater.

Crews recovered her body around 8 p.m. on Monday, July 4, according to a news release.

Bradley was reportedly riding with another passenger at the front of the boat, in front of the protective railing, when it struck the wake of an oncoming vessel, officials said. Both were knocked into the river.

“Bradley did not resurface after suffering severe prop strikes,” officials said. “The male passenger was able to resurface and had minor injuries.”

The boat’s operator, David Crowe, 33, of Denham Springs, was arrested on multiple charges including vehicular homicide and driving a vessel while impaired (DWI), according to LDWF. Crowe was booked into the Livingston Parish Jail but wasn’t listed as an inmate as of July 5, online records show.

Tributes for Bradley flooded social media as her family and friends memorialized their “beautiful angel.”

“You spread so much joy and happiness wherever you went - you never failed to make me laugh,” Kylie Montes wrote on Facebook. “All the good times we shared will never be forgotten. I thank god he let me know you, and I hope you’re dancing in heaven.”

Alexis Browder also remembered her friend as being “kind and courageous.”

“Though I’ve always thought of you as a little sister, I have always admired your humor, compassion, confidence, and beauty,” Browder wrote.

Bradley’s body was taken to the Livingston Parish Coroner’s Office for an autopsy, officials said.

Livingston Parish is about 60 miles northwest of New Orleans.

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