8th Grader Drowns On Rafting Trip

TRI-CITIES, Wash. (AP) – Authorities in Washington state say an eighth-grade student has drowned in a rafting accident on a river near Glenwood.

The Tri-City Herald reported that 14-year-old Jezell Barrera was part of a family group that took two rafts on the Klickitat River on Saturday when the raft she was on hit an underwater log and flipped.

Klickitat County coroner David Quesnel says Barrera was wearing a life jacket but became trapped underwater.

Barrera was born in Richland and was lifelong resident of the Tri-Cities.

She is survived by her parents Francisco Barrera and Mergen Bucio.