3 die in East Brady boating mishap

From staff reports

EAST BRADY – Clarion County Coroner Terry Shaffer Aug. 20 confirmed the identities of three men who died in a boating accident on the Allegheny River early Saturday morning in Clarion County.

Timothy Andrew Jones, 62, of Tarentum; Joseph Wrbas, 48, of Butler; and Chad Wilson, 34, of Prospect, were all pronounced dead as a result of the accident, Shaffer said Sunday night.

Joseph Wrbas’ father, whose name also is Joseph, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh after he was found conscious and alert, Shaffer also confirmed Sunday night.

Clarion County officials said the three died when the 21-foot boat ran onto the riverbank at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday below Phillipston, according to The Associated Press.

The elder Wrabas was in the front of the boat, where there was an air pocket, Shaffer told The Associated Press.

Emergency officials were called at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday when someone reported a boat upside down in the river, local authorities told WTAE-TV.

“The boat ran up on the bank and flipped a couple of times and turned upside down,” Shaffer told the Pittsburgh television station, which reported that the men were fishing on a 21-foot boat near their camp in Wattersonville in Armstrong County.

Gabriella Offutt and her husband own the campground. She told WTAE that she had known the men for more than 16 years.

“Joe left behind a 4- or 5-year old daughter,” Offutt said. “Chad had a little boy last year, he was like a year or so old.”

Waterway Conservation Officer Gregory Pochron, of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said the accident is under investigation and that autopsies were planned Monday at the Erie County Coroner’s Office, according to WTAE.