TANEY COUNTY, Mo. — The family of an O'Fallon, Missouri, girl who was killed in a 2022 boating accident at Table Rock Lake has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Taney County against several parties, claiming the pontoon that struck her was "in a dangerous and defective condition."
The lawsuit revealed new details in what led to the death of 15-year-old Parkway West High School student Kendall Johnson.
The suit names White River Marine Group LLC; Brunswick Corp.; Forestar Industries LLC; TMBC Leasing; and Big Cedar Lodge, claiming the pontoon was built without proper safety mechanisms and proper warnings weren't given.
According to the lawsuit, Johnson's father rented a pontoon from Big Cedar Lodge's Camp Long Creek Marina and took Johnson, her brother and several of their friends out onto Table Rock Lake. The suit claims they were given "no substantive instruction, education or warning" regarding the boat's operation. Also, no mention was made of the boat's lack of a throttle interlock.
The group went to the cliffs on the Long Creek arm of the lake and Johnson's father positioned the boat about 75-100 feet away while the children jumped from the cliffs. The suit said he kept the boat in neutral gear so he could adjust his position relative to other boats in the area, the cliffs and wakes coming from the main channel.
Shortly after, another person warned him that the boat was drifting close to another boat. As he went to move the boat, the suit said a wake hit the boat and threw his body forward. His arm or the driver's seat struck the throttle, causing the forward throttle to engage. The boat then immediately shot forward at a high speed, throwing him into the driver's seat, which broke at the pedestal. He then fell to the floor, where he was unable to reach the throttle.
By the time Johnson's father was able to stand up, the boat had fully accelerated, running over Johnson and another boy and striking Johnson with the propeller. The boat then crashed into the cliffs.
Johnson died from her injuries. A 16-year-old boy from Ballwin also suffered minor injuries.
The suit claimed the boat was "designed, manufactured, sold and furnished in a dangerous and defective condition, where it did not have a throttle interlock, a safety mechanism designed to prevent the Pontoon Boat's throttle from inadvertently moving from the neutral throttle position into the forward/reverse throttle positions."
The suit also claimed the driver's seat swiveled counterclockwise in a way that could inadvertently strike the throttle and shift it into near full forward throttle, and was built with insufficient strength to withstand "reasonably anticipated forces" without breaking.
The suit requested compensation for medical, funeral, burial and other financial expenses and losses as well as for the pain and suffering Johnson went through before her death.