The Monroe County Sheriff, Troy Goodnough, revealed during a press conference that emergency response teams were dispatched to the Swan Boat Club, where a children's birthday party was in progress at the time of the accident. Surveillance footage captured the vehicle speeding through the parking lot before it crashed into the boat house. The car finally came to a halt 25 feet inside the structure, Goodnough explained.
Medical personnel, including ambulance crews and helicopter teams, transported nine critically injured victims to local hospitals. Other injured individuals were taken for medical treatment by private citizens, as reported by Sheriff Goodnough.
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"Regrettably, two victims, an eight-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother, were pronounced dead at the scene," Sheriff Goodnough stated. He described the scene as "extremely chaotic," with witnesses displaying "high levels of emotion."
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The woman behind the wheel is currently detained at the Monroe County Jail, suspected of "operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death," although her identity has not been disclosed. The suspect is cooperating with the police, and as the investigation progresses, it is expected that she will face additional charges, Goodnough added.
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In response to a journalist's query about the suspect's presence at a local bar prior to the incident, Goodnough confirmed, "We have information that she may have been there, yes. We went in. We shut the business down, and we're in the process of executing a search warrant for information as to their business conducted that day."
Sheriff Goodnough stated that preliminary estimates suggest a total of 15 victims. However, the exact number of people present at the boat club at the time of the incident remains uncertain due to the chaos triggered by the tragedy.
When a journalist remarked, "This is just a horrific story," at the conclusion of the press conference, Sheriff Goodnough simply responded, "It is."