27-year-old found dead after high-speed boat wreck on Lake LBJ
Lake LBJ. File photo
The body of a missing 27-year-old man was recovered on the morning of Saturday, June 13, in Lake Lyndon B. Johnson following a high-speed boating collision with a rock on Friday, June 12. The driver of the vessel involved was arrested following the incident.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials told DailyTrib that game wardens in Burnet and Llano counties responded to a “single-vessel incident” on the Upper Colorado River arm of Lake LBJ on Friday evening.
At the scene, wardens determined that the vessel, which was carrying four occupants, collided with a rock while traveling at a high rate of speed. Three of the occupants were ejected into the water, but only two resurfaced.
In tandem with the Kingsland Volunteer Fire Department, game wardens were able to use sonar scans to identify a point of interest and recover the body of the missing man Saturday morning.
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the driver of the vessel, identified as 31-year-old Edgar Esteban Barrientos-Cruz, of Austin, was arrested by the TPWD and booked into the Burnet County Jail for a charge of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle for his connection to the incident on Friday.
The investigation remains ongoing.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends during this difficult time,” reads a TPWD statement sent to DailyTrib. “Texas Game Wardens encourage all boaters to wear a life jacket, use their engine cut-off switch and operate at safe speeds appropriate to the conditions.”