FENTON, Mo. — Missouri State Highway Patrol officials released the identity of the man who was killed in the boat crash on the Meramec in Fenton Saturday night.
Milos Marjanovic, 34, was from Brookfield, Illinois.
The crash happened near George Winter Park. Five men and one woman in their 30s were involved in that crash. Two of the other five people on board that boat are St. Louis residents: Milos Stojilkovich and Zarko Nedeljkovic.
Art Muhs knows the dangers of boating on the Meramec River. He even bought a special kind of boat that travels well in shallow water.
“I just went through a lot of props,” said Muhs. “So, I decided to get a jet boat, because you can still hit logs and everything. I’ve done that before – taken the whole lower unit off of one of my engines by hitting stuff I never saw.”
The river can present other hazards. Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C officials have seen seven drownings so far this year. That compares to 12 in 2020, and 16 in 2019.
“Most of those are overestimating their swimming abilities. There is a current out on the river. That current is relentless," Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Juston Wheetley said.
Wheetley says swimming in a Missouri river is not like swimming in a pool, or even a lake because of the unpredictable current.
It affects swimmers and boaters.
"So if you’re running at a high level of speed in your boat because you were here yesterday and everything was fine, that doesn’t mean today there’s not going to be debris in that area that you could hit," Wheetley said.
It’s caution Muhs is hoping to put into practice.
“You might have some water-logged driftwood that’s under the water,” said Muhs, “but it’s not heavy enough to sink to the bottom, and you don’t see it.”
In Missouri, the law requires a life jacket readily accessible for every adult on board. Kids under seven must be wearing one.
The family of Marjanovic started a GoFundMe page to raise money to transport and bury him in Serbia. Those interested can contribute here.