Drunk boater kills 7-year-old girl on Colorado River: police

A California man drunkenly operating a boat struck and killed a 7-year-old girl Sunday, according to police.

Arthur Garcia, 37, was driving the boat in the Colorado River on the border between California and Arizona, the San Bernardino County sheriff’s office said in a press release.

The Colorado River flows past Buckskin Mountain State Park in southwest Arizona. (Shutterstock/)

The girl, who has not been identified, was playing in the water near Arizona’s Buckskin Mountain State Park, police said. She was near the shoreline when she was struck.

Cops said Garcia, who lives in Indio, Calif., was “reckless and negligent” while driving the boat and that it slammed into the shoreline after striking the young girl.

Garcia posted $200,000 bail Tuesday and was released from jail, the Lake Havasu City News Herald reported. Authorities in San Bernardino County will handle the investigation and potential prosecution of the case.