Julia Budzinski fatally hit by propeller in chilling river tragedy 2 DAYS before another deadly July 4 boating accident

TWO teen girls died in separate boating accidents over Fourth of July weekend, leaving their families mourning two tragic losses.

Julia Budzinski, the 17-year-old daughter of Toronto Blue Jays first-base coach Mark Budzinski, was struck by a boat propeller while tubing in a Virginia river.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources confirmed to The Sun that two children were on a tube pulled by a boat in the James River on Saturday, July 2, during an outing with family and friends.

At one point, the girls fell off the tube.

The boat operator reportedly slowly turned the vessel around to get to them.

A DWR spokesperson told local media that the boat hit a wave, which caused the boat to be pushed on top of one of the girls.

A propeller hit a 17-year-old believed to be Budzinski, according to the spokesperson.

The boat operator immediately jumped into the river to rescue the girl as did another passing boater, the department said.

Once they got the girl out of the water, they rushed to shore for help.

She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"Lifejackets were worn, no foul play is suspected, and alcohol was not a factor," a department spokesperson said in a statement.

"DWR sends their condolences to the friends and family during this unimaginable time," the statement added.

A vigil was held on Sunday night at Glen Allen High School, where Julia was a student.

"It’s with a heavy heart to announce that the GAHS family is dealing with the (loss) of life of a student — Julia Budzinski,” Principal Reginald Davenport wrote on Twitter.

"She was the sweetest person," one young woman told WTVR.

"I remember when she would congratulate me... it just put a smile on my face."

Julia was the Budzinski's eldest child.

Julia's dad was said to be taking time away from the MLB team to be with his wife, Monica, and two other children, Josh and Lily.

FOURTH OF JULY TRAGEDY

Two days later, the body of Madison Bradley, also 17, was recovered from the Blind River, according to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.

Madison was reported missing to agents around 5.40pm on Monday before she was found hours later.

The girl was a passenger on a pontoon boat with five other people. Agents said she was riding on the bow in front of the protective rail with a male passenger.

The two were knocked into the water after the boat hit a wake from a passing vessel.

Agents said Madison did not resurface after suffering severe prop strikes, while the male passenger was able to resurface and only had minor injuries.

"She had her whole life ahead of her and the world has really lost something," Madison's father Mike Bradley told Fox8Live.

According to her mother Leigh-Ann Bradley, the family was familiar with being out on the water.

"We had a boat on the Rigolets and we would go boating all the time," she said.

The operator of the boat, David Crowe, 33, was arrested by the LDWF for vehicular homicide, operating or driving a vessel while impaired, and reckless operation of a vessel, Fox8 reported.

"There was alcohol detected, where impairment is taken he was taken to another location where we put a breathalyzer on the 33-year-old driver," said Sgt Jeff Lanoux of the LDWF.

He was booked into the Livingston Parish Jail and is now out on a $101,000 bond.

If convicted of vehicular homicide, Crowe could face fines between $2,000 to $15,000 and five to 30 years in prison, according to the news outlet.

Madison's body was turned over to the Livingston Parish Coroner's Office to determine her official cause of death.