A popular boat-based burger vendor has sunk after hitting a rock formation in the Mississippi River near Clinton Sunday evening.
Sonya Carey-Otte co-owns MiMi's Burger Boat with her husband. She says they were just minutes away from their home dock before crashing.
"The galley, immediately, like a geyser, it just blew the door off the hatch underneath the boat and water was just gushing in."
Several boaters have come to the couple's aid. One has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for repairs.
"These divers went out there on their own last night without even asking, these boaters when out there this morning to gather things, that kid started a GoFundMe -- I mean, in a single day, it's unbelievable."
Carey-Otte says the couple is still trying to figure out what the next steps are. Removing the boat from the Mississippi is estimated to cost about $15,000.
Carey-Otte says she wants to use the accident as an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of the area where the boat crashed -- which she says should be marked with cautionary signs like other areas of the river are.
Clinton Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Forari says three boats, including Carey-Otte's, have crashed at the site near the ADM Plant in Clinton in the past three years.