A 23-year-old Catholic school teacher from St. Charles has been in charged in connection with a rafting accident last week that killed a fellow teacher.

Janelle Veseling and Timothy Ruse, 38, of Sarasota, Fla., have been charged with operating a watercraft under the influence of alcohol in connection with the incident that occurred at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday on the Vermillion River in LaSalle County.

The two were part of a group of seven people who rented two rafts from a local company. As the rafts approached a dam near the Lone Star Cement Plant in Ogelsby, one raft navigated around the dam safely, according to the Illinois Conservation Police.

A second raft carrying Veseling, Ruse and Jennifer Wehling, 36, of DeKalb became caught in recirculating currents after going over the dam, authorities said.

Veseling and Ruse both escaped to safety, but Wehling was trapped. The Ogelsby Fire Department recovered Wehling and took her to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in nearby Peru, where she later was pronounced dead.

The others also were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released, authorities said. All three were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident.

Wehling had been a first-grade teacher at St. Mary Catholic School in DeKalb since 2001. She moved there from Bloomingdale in 1997.

She is survived by her two daughters, Emily and Faythe Mayer.

Wehling’s obituary describes Ruse, formerly of Elgin, as “the man that brought joy to her life.”

Veseling teaches third grade at St. Mary, according to the school’s Web site.

School officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

A visitation is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wedneday at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, 302 Fisk Ave., DeKalb. A funeral Mass will follow at 10:30 a.m. at the church.