These recent BUI stories remind us of the consequences of operating a boat while intoxicated.

Skipper Liable for Allowing Intoxicated Man to Pilot Boat

Percy Small and Matthew Reynolds are now well aware of what can happen when one mixes alcohol with boating. During an evening outing with 12 friends in Sydney Harbor, the boat that the men were piloting crashed, killing six of their friends. Each of the men faces a minimum of five years and maximum of seven and a half years in jail for their participation in the tragedy.
The group began the evening drinking at a local hotel and later moved the festivities to the house of one of the partygoers, where they continued to drink and take drugs. The manager of the hotel had too much to drink and asked Reynolds to take him by boat to drop off a set of hotel keys. Reynolds agreed and borrowed a boat large enough for twelve of his friends to join him on the errand.

While on board, the group continued drinking and doing drugs. On the way back from delivering the keys, the group stopped the boat at one of the light markers in the harbor and remained there for a period of time. At 2:30 in the morning, on the way back to shore, the group’s boat hit a fishing boat. Six of the group perished; the youngest was just 20 years old. Reynolds’ girlfriend was among the dead.

During a subsequent investigation, it was revealed that Reynolds was not piloting the boat at the time of the incident. Instead, he allowed Small to navigate even though Small was too intoxicated to drive. During the evening Small had been smoking pot, had snorted cocaine, and had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .124.

Small was charged with dangerous navigation causing death and Reynolds was charged with manslaughter. During criminal proceedings, both Reynolds and Small appeared to be remorseful about what had transpired that fateful evening. However, Reynolds refused to take responsibility for taking the boat and Small claimed he was simply doing what Reynolds told him to do.

Reynolds blamed both the hotel manager for asking him to drive him and Small for claiming that he had a license to drive the boat. Further, the defendants attempted to blame the fishing boat pilot for failing to maintain a proper path and avoid colliding with the party boat.

BUI Tragedy in Nebraska

Todd Spangler of Omaha, Nebraska was recently convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to up to four years in prison in connection to the death of a family friend during a boating incident.

Spangler’s blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit for driving an automobile while he was driving his boat on a lake in
Douglas County.

Spangler’s wife, Kimberly, and family friend Jennifer Finke-Dwyer were riding in an inner tube that was being towed by the boat that Todd was piloting. Unfortunately, Todd turned the boat too sharply and the women were slammed into the dock. Finke-Dwyer, aged 30, died from blunt force trauma to her liver. She had been working on her doctorate at the University of Nebraska.
Although he showed remorse for his actions, the judge refused Spangler’s request for probation and sentenced him to two to four years in prison; he’ll be eligible for parole in approximately one year. Spangler had faced up to 20 years in prison.