10-year-old South Elgin girl killed in boating accident

The body of a 10-year-old South Elgin girl was pulled from a Michigan lake Thursday afternoon, a day after she was run over by a boat driven by her mother while tubing in southwestern Michigan.

According to local news reports, 10-year-old Daniella Rose Veca was tubing with two of her sisters on Corey Lake, about 40 miles south of Kalamazoo Mich., when her mother became distracted and made a sharp turn, striking the tube.

A hard left turn had caused a child in the boat to fall and begin crying at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The mother reached down to help the child and, by the time she looked up, she had run over the tube, according to the Sturgis Journal.

Emergency crews searched the waters with the help of a helicopter and dive teams for three hours Wednesday night and found the girl’s life vest, but called the search off due to darkness.

Daniella’s body was found Thursday in about 40 to 50 feet of water just before 3 p.m., according to Grand Rapids’ WOOD 8.

Daniella’s two sisters who were on the tube with her were found in the water immediately following the accident and are OK, according to the Sturgis Journal.

An employee at the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office said further information would not be available until Friday morning.

Police gave a Breathalyzer test to the girl’s mother, but sheriff’s deputies do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to WOOD 8.

Authorities do not believe there are any grounds for criminal charges, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette.