Fatal Coralville boat accident still under investigation

Officials continue to investigate a Sunday evening boat accident on Coralville Lake that killed 12-year-old Sarah Perkins of Fairfield.

Perkins was riding on an inner tube towed behind a boat when she fell off and was struck by an oncoming boat, according to Joe Wilkinson, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, the lead agency in the investigation.

Investigators have identified a person of interest, but as of Tuesday afternoon no charges had been filed, Wilkinson said.

Shawn Meier, the DNR's Southeast Iowa District law enforcement supervisor, said investigators think they know who was driving the boat that struck the girl and the boat that was towing the inner tube but are still interviewing witnesses to “confirm what we think is right is in fact right.”

He said names of the drivers would not be released until investigators are positive of that information.

Meier would not say if blood alcohol test results are pending but said steps are being taken to ensure all boat operators were doing so legally.

Wilkinson said the accident happened around 7 p.m. about 150 yards north of the Mehaffey Bridge in an area of unrestricted boating.

The DNR has also identified the victim of a fatal boating accident Monday on Storm Lake as 10-year-old David McFarlin of South Sioux City, Neb.

The boy was a passenger in a boat that struck a dredge pipe in the water, causing the 175-horsepower outboard motor to flip backward into the boat and on top of the boy, the DNR said.

The dredge pipe was marked with buoys, and boat ramp signs warned boaters to cross the dredge pipe at no-wake speed, the DNR said.

The boat was operated by Harry Foote, 45, of Lawton.