SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man has been indicted on homicide by vessel charges after a Memorial Day weekend boat crash that killed five people.
Mark Stegall was indicted Wednesday on 10 counts of first-degree homicide by vessel, six counts of serious injury by vessel, boating under the influence, and reckless operation, local news outlets report.
Stegall’s lawyers did not immediately return request for comment from local news outlets.
The collision between one boat with six people and one with three people happened on the Wilmington River near Savannah, with some bodies not recovered until the next day.
Four members of the Leffler family — Chris, 51, his wife Lori, 50, and their sons Zach, 23, and Nate, 17 — died in the May 28 accident. Robert “Stephen” Chauncey, a passenger in Stegall’s boat, also died. Others were injured.
Stegall was arrested and charged with boating under the influence at the time of the wreck.
Authorities say Stegall was under the influence of alcohol and operating the boat recklessly by steering it down the wrong side of the river. Boaters are supposed to pass each other on the right.
A local businessman was killed on the Wilmington River on May 5 when a boat he was aboard struck an unlit channel marker and he was hit on the head by an unknown object, authorities said.
