Area boy dies in boating accident
Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 7, 2001
LIVINGSTON – Matthew Charles Steele, 16, of LaPlace was killed in a recent boating accident in Livingston Parish, when the inner tube he was being pulled in by boat slammed into a tree. When the boat attempted to turn around too quickly, the boy was sent into the tree near the shoreline of Natalbany River that streams out from Tickfaw River. Wildlife and Fisheries employees were sent to the scene July 1 around 5 p.m., and the driver of the boat, Nicholas Ryan Noel, 17, of LaPlace, was tested for alcohol, but no alcohol was found on the boat and it is not suspected to be a factor in the accident. Three other passengers were also in the boat, but no one else was injured. spokesperson said.