Two dead after boats collide on Tickfaw River

Two boats collided on a Louisiana river, leaving two people dead and several others hurt, authorities said Monday.

The collision happened early Sunday on the Tickfaw River near Kings Point in Livingston Parish. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said agents were notified just after midnight about the crash involving a 25-foot pontoon boat, with seven people aboard, and a 25-foot Sea Fox boat, carrying six passengers.

When agents arrived at the scene, they found the pontoon boat heavily damaged and the Sea Fox capsized, the department said.

The victims were identified as Thuy Gustin, 31, of Springfield, and Chase Sharkey, 36, of Greensburg.

Officials said Gustin, one of six passengers on the Sea Fox, was trapped under the boat. Two people jumped into the waterway to recover her, performing cardio pulmonary resuscitation until emergency personnel arrived. She was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead, the department said.

Sharkey, who was operating the pontoon boat, went missing after the crash. Wildlife agents, a search team from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Springfield Fire Department later recovered his body about 12:45 p.m.

The parish coroner’s office will determine an official cause of death.

What caused the crash remains under investigation. The wildlife and fisheries’ department, in a news release, said Sharkey’s blood will be tested to see if he was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol.

Authorities said none of the people on board either boat was wearing a life jacket at the time of the collision.