Crime & Safety
Homicide Charged in June Boat Crash at St. Croix Cliff That Left One Dead
Hudsonite Daniel M. Schulte told investigators Patrick A. Puhalla of Bayport didn't respond to warnings before their boat hit the rocky shoreline near Kinnickinnic State Park. David J. Riley of New Richmond died at the scene.
Pierce County prosecutors filed homicide charges Thursday against Bayport resident Patrick A. Puhalla, 47, in the June 5 boat-crash death of David J. Riley, 40, of Afton, according to media reports.
Riley died at the scene near Kinnickinnic River State Park after the boat he was on, with Puhalla at the helm, collided with rocky cliffs shortly before midnight.
A Hudson resident, Daniel Michael Schultz, 55, told investigators he gave Puhalla several warnings that the boat wasn't where it should be, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
The charges against Puhalla, according to the Hudson Star Observer, include:
- homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle (two counts)
- negligent operation of a vehicle
- causing injury by operating a boat while intoxicated (two counts)
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