BURLINGTON, IOWA -- A trial date has been scheduled for two men charged with involuntary manslaughter and boating while intoxicated in the fatal collision of two boats on the Mississippi River near Burlington last spring.
The Associated Press reports that 22-year-old Douglas Metcalf and 21-year-old Joseph Schier Jr. are scheduled to begin trial on May 13, but it is unclear whether they will be tried together. Metcalf and Schier, both from Burlington, have pleaded not guilty.
Authorities say the two were piloting johnboats around 2 a.m. May 19 when the boats collided while ferrying people who were partying on an island sandbar. The crash occurred about four miles northeast of the U.S. Highway 34 bridge that connects Iowa with Illinois.
Several people were thrown into the water; four died.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO