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Throttleman involved in the Lake of the Ozarks boat crashed has died (VIDEO)

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photo/screen shot YouTube

photo/screen shot YouTube

Forty-four-year-old Michael Fiori died Tuesday evening at University Hospital in Columbia.  Fiori was the throttleman of the 46-foot SC Outerlimits boat that flipped as high as 50 feet in the air before landing on his side of the canopy before coming to rest right side up.  The boat was running more than 150 mph this past Saturday at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.

Frank Sciacca, general counsel for Fiore’s company, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats, said in a statement that Fiori died from complications from surgery after the accident.  Sciacca says Fiori was married with three young children.

**VIDEO WARNING–STRONG LANGUAGE CONTAINED IN THE AUDIO THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME

One boat sets a new speed record, while another goes soaring in the air at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout (VIDEO)

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A boat racing on Lake of the Ozarks flips over during early runs on Saturday.

A boat racing on Lake of the Ozarks flips over during early runs on Saturday.

Driven by Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor A-Thani, of Qatar, and British racer Steve Curtis as the throttle man, a turbine powered 50′ Mystic catamaran called Al Adaa ‘am 96 Spirit of Qatar, hit the 244 mph mark to claim the Top Gun title at the 26th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.   That speed topped the record that was set in 2013.

On Saturday, dramatic video taken by Beverly Kalwei, shows a new 46-foot SC Outerlimits boat flipping and soaring through the air while running more than 150 mph.  After launching an estimated 50 feet in the air, the boat,  driven by Joel Begin and throttlman Mike Fiore,  landed on the throttleman’s side of the canopy and came to rest right side up.

Fiore and Begin survived the crash, and were taken to University Hospital in Columbia, Mo.   Begin is reported to be doing better, while Fiore was airlifted to the tauma center and is in serious but stable condition.

**VIDEO WARNING–STRONG LANGUAGE CONTAINED IN THE AUDIO THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME

Seven killed on Missouri roads over Labor Day weekend, no drownings or boating fatalities

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The Highway Patrol reports seven people were killed on Missouri roads over the Labor Day weekend. That’s even with last year, when seven people died in car accidents over the holiday. Two of the highway fatalities were motorcyclists.

Troopers investigated 248 crashes … 112 people suffered injuries, that number is down from last year. The Patrol reports arresting 119 people for drunk driving, which is also down from 147 last year.  In 2012, troopers investigated 201 crashes, which included 144 injuries and four of the seven fatalities.

Good news on the waterways though were no boating fatalities or drownings have been reported. The Water Patrol did investigate nine boating crashes, injuring seven, and arrested 14 people for boating while intoxicated. During the 2012 Labor Day weekend, officers investigated three boating crashes, which included one injury and no fatalities. One person drowned and seven people were arrested for boating while intoxicated during last year’s Labor Day weekend.

The 2013 counting period ran from 6 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30, through 11:59 p.m., Monday, Sept. 2.

Of the five traffic crash fatalities troopers investigated, three occurred in the Troop D, Springfield area, and one each occurred in the Troop C, Weldon Spring area, and the Troop F, Jefferson City.

There were no fatalities on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, during the counting period.

Three fatalities occurred on Saturday, Aug. 31. Justin M. Rohe, 25, of St. Charles died when he failed to stop at a red signal and struck the rear passenger side of a vehicle making a left turn. Rohe was ejected from the motorcycle he was driving. The crash occurred at the intersection of Mid Rivers Mall Drive and Ohmes Road in St. Charles County. St. Charles County emergency medical services pronounced Rohe dead at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured in the crash.

Dalton W. Coe, 15, of Seneca died when the vehicle in which he was a passenger crossed the centerline and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle then left the roadway, overturned, and struck a tree. Newton County Deputy Coroner Brian Artherton pronounced Coe dead at the scene. The driver and another passenger sustained moderate injuries. All three of the vehicle’s occupants were wearing seat belts. The crash occurred on Gum Road south of Joplin, in Newton County.

The St. Louis Police Department is investigating the remaining fatality on Aug. 31 — no further details are available.

One person died on Sunday, Sept. 1. Brandan A. Evans, 18, of Bronaugh died when the vehicle he was driving traveled off the left side of the roadway, overturned several times, and came to rest on its tires. Evans was not wearing a seat belt and was partially ejected from the vehicle. Dr. Tiffany Batiste, Freeman West Hospital, Joplin, pronounced Evans dead at the hospital. The crash occurred on Missouri Route BB, one mile south of Nevada, Vernon County. The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.

Three fatalities occurred on the Labor Day holiday, Monday, Sept. 2. Beth W. Adamson, 50, of Wichita, Kan., died when the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger failed to stop at a stop sign. The Adamson vehicle was then struck broadside. Dr. Buchele, Freeman West Hospital in Joplin, pronounced Adamson dead at the hospital. Both the driver and Adamson were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash; the driver sustained minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle sustained serious injuries; he was not wearing a seat belt. The crash occurred 10 miles north of Joplin on Missouri Highway 43 in Jasper County.

Melissa K. Crossland, 45, of Richland died when the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle then traveled off the right side of the road, struck a tree, and overturned. Neither the driver nor Crossland were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Camden County Medical Examiner Jaimie Wheat pronounced Crossland dead at the scene. The driver sustained serious injuries. The crash occurred in Camden County on Missouri Route A east of Seven Springs Road.

The Ste. Genevieve Police Department is investigating the remaining fatality for Monday, Sept. 2. No further details are available.

The patrol says the fatality statistics reported today could change if late deaths occur, if other departments report fatal traffic/boating crashes after the numbers were released, or if a fatality is determined to be caused by a medical condition rather than traffic/boating incident.

Lake Race 2013 set for this weekend (Google Hangout)

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This weekend, speed, power and excitement return to the Lake of the Ozarks. On Saturday June 8th and Sunday June 9th, the Offshore Super Series returns to the Lake of the Ozarks with Lake Race 2013. The total amount of prize money now stands at $75,000.

Among the highlights are the Cat Outboard Race. A $12,000 prize will be up for grabs. The Super V-Lite Race with an $8,000 prize on the line. You do not want to miss Saturday’s first ever sanctioned Pontoon Race, plus a total of $15,000 will be what racers will be going for in the Pro/Am Race that follows.  On Sunday, $40,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top five finishers in the Performance Extreme Unlimited Race. $18,000 of that will go to the boat that comes in first.

Manny Haley from Lake Race 2013, joins us on this Google Hangout to talk how you can watch all the fun, from Bagnell Dam and the surrounding area.

Schedule of Events

Saturday, June 8th

10:00 AM – Racer Testing

11:30 AM – Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM- Pontoon Racing

12:30 PM – Pro / Am Racing

1:50 PM – Super V Lite / Cat Outboard Racing

2:20 PM – Performance Extreme Unlimited Class Racing

3:10 PM – Racing Wraps Up for the Day

Sunday, June 9th

10:00 AM – Racer Testing

11:45 AM – National Anthem

12:00 PM – Pro/Am Racing Finals

12:45 PM – Super V Lite / Cat Outboard Racing Finals

1:30 PM – Tunnel Boat Exhibition

2:15 PM – Performance Extreme Unlimited Class Racing Finals

4:30 PM – Awards Ceremony

 

 

Offshore Super Series returns to Lake of the Ozarks in 2013

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Speed and power will be on display as the Offshore Super Series returns to the Lake of the Ozarks in June 2013. The Lake of the Ozarks Invitational Offshore Super Series Race Event will be hosted by Beavers at the Dam June 7-9, 2013.

National and World Champion as well as World Record Holder Dave Scott, an offshore racing legend, will be the honorary chairperson. This will be a world-class race event that will attract race teams, support operations, and thousands of spectators from the Lake area and the surrounding communities.

The OSS race committee is currently working with officials from Ameren Missouri, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the city of Lake Ozark on a plan to allow spectators onto the dam in order to view the race.

Boat accident on Lake of the Ozarks caught on camera (VIDEO)

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Seven boaters were injured and five were sent to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries from this boating accident this past Friday on the Lake of the Ozarks. The accident was caught on camera by Lake TV. Viewer discretion is advised. The video is violent. Lucky for the guy in the back wearing the white t-shirt. At some point before the accident, he got off the top of the back seat.

Inspections urged for Lake of the Ozarks docks

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Authorities at the Lake of the Ozarks are urging property owners on the Lake to have regular inspections done of their docks, particularly for electrical safety.

Three people have been electrocuted at the Lake in the last week and three others were shocked in May but were pulled from the water and survived.

Ameren owns property around the Lake and issues permits for new docks. Shoreline Manager Jeff Green says his company hears about cases of electricity in the water each year, but it’s not what he calls common.

“I think this is a somewhat unusual circumstance that accumulated with a lot of people here at the Lake, enjoying the Lake. It’s a hot summer so we have lots of people here right now. This is a terrible, tragic occurrence.”

Green says those who do feel electricity in the water generally want to swim toward a dock. “That’s probably not the best thing to do because if the dock is energized you actually want to swim away from that dock, and certainly disconnect the power immediately and call one of the local fire districts and have them come out and take a look at it, or a qualified electrician.”

There are six fire protection districts around the Lake that participate in regulations adopted in 2006 of how electrical installations are supposed to be done. Green says those districts can be called to conduct electrical safety inspections as well as electricians.

Green says the only time an electrical safety inspection is required is when a boat dock permit is issued. Once that initial inspection is done, a dock owner could potentially never have another one done, but Green says they should. “It’s each individual dock owner’s responsibility to make sure that they keep their dock electrically safe and that almost demands some kind of inspection.”

See more about electrical safety with docks on Ameren’s website.

Ameren: FERC ruling ends danger to Lake of the Ozarks properties

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A ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ends the concerns for Lake of the Ozarks property owners about some of their buildings around the Lake. The Commission has accepted a shoreline boundary plan from Ameren UE that lowers its boundaries to a pool elevation of 662 feet, and lower for existing dwellings and commercial structures.

Shoreline Management supervisor Jeff Green says this means none of the more than 1,500 structures built around the Lake that infringe on Ameren’s property will have to be removed. “We’ll be notifying the over 1,500 property owners in the coming weeks regarding the recording of this Estoppel Certificate.”

The Estoppel Certificate is a document that will be filed with the Recorder of Deeds Offices in Camden, Miller, Benton and Morgan counties that clarifies ownership and confirms that structures outside the boundary line are not in danger.

Green says aside from helping property owners understand the new plan, the situation regarding those properties is now over. He’s also confident that it prevents any similar issues from arising in the future, regarding properties around the Lake.

“Absolutely. We’re razor focused on making sure that we put a stake in the sand today and make sure that this doesn’t happen in the future, and certainly lowering the project boundary is a significant step towards us not having this problem in the future.”

Read more about the Ameren shoreline plan here.

Probe into withholding of E. coli contamination isn’t over yet

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The Senate committee looking into the decision to delay last spring’s release of information on E. coli contamination at the Lake of the Ozarks isn’t quite finished with its effort to get to the bottom of the withholding of data. Senator Brad Lager (R-Savannah), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee, still hopes to hear from past or present Department of Natural Resources employees who could add to what is publicly known.

“The cooperation has been absolutely disappointing,” said Lager. “The Department has done everything possible to try to derail this. They’ve done everything possible to try to mislead us.” [Read more…]

Nixon Administration says it will work with committee

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Top officials within the Nixon Administration deny they have been uncooperative with a Senate review of DNR action to withhold information about contamination at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Sen. Brad Lager (R-Savannah) has complained his committee’s review of Department of Natural Resources’ action has been slowed by an uncooperative DNR. DNR Director Mark Templeton denies the charge and defends his decision to halt interviews between Senate committee staff and DNR employees until the DNR staff attorney was present.

“It was originally three (Senate committee) staffers and just a DNR employee,” Templeton tells the Missourinet. “The DNR employee, in the department, needed to have someone in the interview with him.”

Templeton rejects suggestions that DNR action has hurt the Senate committee work.

“Absolutely, we have not hurt their investigation,” asserts Templeton.

Templeton has been suspended without pay while the Nixon Administration investigates what went wrong. Governor Nixon Chief of Staff John Watson says the Senate committee focus and the focus of the governor’s office are different.

“If their focus is trying to determine legislative changes, I don’t believe at the outset that’s a primary focus of ours and, in all likelihood, not much of the focus at all,” Watson says.

Governor Nixon has named DNR Deputy Director Bill Bryan to serve as acting director during Templeton’s two-week suspension. Nixon also has ordered Bryan and Department of Corrections Inspector General Chris Pickering to conduct a thorough investigation of DNR’s action. The investigation is to focus on why beaches at Lake of the Ozarks state parks which registered high E. coli levels weren’t closed. Nixon has also ordered Bryan to hold accountable those responsible for not closing the beaches and withholding the information from the public for a month.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:20 MP3)