3 dead, 1 injured after boat overturns in Clarion County

RIMERSBURG, Pa. — Three men died and another was injured after a boat ran aground and overturned on the Allegheny River, authorities said Saturday.

Officials in Clarion County said the 21-foot boat apparently ran onto the riverbank at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday below Phillipston.

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reported that County Coroner Terry Shaffer identified the victims as Timothy Jones, 62, of Tarentum; Joe Wrbas, Jr., 48, of Butler; and Chad Wilson, 34, of Prospect.

Coroner Terry Shaffer said the boat "ran up on the bank and flipped a couple of times and turned upside down." Emergency officials were called at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday when someone reported a boat upside down in the river, authorities said.

Waterways conservation officer Gregory Pochron, of the Fish and Boat Commission, said the three men were found dead in the boat.

A man in his 70s found pinned underneath the boat was reported to be conscious and alert when he was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh.

"He was in the front of the boat where there was an air pocket, apparently. The others were underwater," Shaffer told the Associated Press.

Autopsies on the victims were planned for Monday at the Erie County coroner's office, he said.

Pochron said the accident is under investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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