Lawsuit filed against boat owner in deadly Lake of the Ozarks crash

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the boat owner in a deadly boat crash at the Lake of the Ozarks.

The crash killed twenty-four-year-old Daniel Lewis, 23-year-old Joseph Lemark and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel in May 2018.

Hochanadel’s parent’s and Lemark’s father filed a wrongful death suit this month against the boat owner, Hayden Frazier, and the driver of the boat, Lewis.

According to the lawsuit, Lewis was intoxicated when he crashed the boat nearly head-on into a rock bluff just after midnight at mile marker 47.5 on the Osage Arm of Lake of the Ozarks. The documents said the toxicology report showed Lewis was under the influence of alcohol and other illegal substances and that his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit.

The lawsuit alleges Lewis drove the boat with Frazier’s permission. It claims Frazier failed to exercise reasonable care to protect his passengers, including LeMark and Hochanadel, by not supervising Lewis’ operation of the boat.

Attorneys filed a motion Monday proposing that Lewis’ father, Andy, act on his behalf in the lawsuit.

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