MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. — An East Tennessee woman is facing charges for criminally negligent homicide and child neglect nearly a year after a three-year-old boy drowned at Tellico Lake.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said a Monroe County Grand Jury indicted Amanda English, 25, on April 6 for the charges. She was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail on April 24.
The TWRA said English was operating a boat on Tellico Lake on August 6, 2021, when a three-year-old child fell out and drowned.
The TWRA said the Monroe County Sheriff's Office responded along with local fire and EMS crews to a call just before midnight.
Officers said English, another adult and two juveniles were traveling from Sequoyah Landing Marina to Razor Landing where they were camping. One of the adults realized the three-year-old was missing when they prepared to anchor the boat, and the pair looked for the child along with bystanders who heard calls for help.
The TWRA said the child was not wearing a life jacket and was found unresponsive in 5 feet of water. People tried to perform CPR on the child before he was taken to Sweetwater Hospital, where the TWRA said he later died.
English is scheduled to appear in court on May 16 at 8:30 a.m.