Photo: Chatham County Sheriff’s Office
A 45-year-old man has been taken into custody following a boat collision in Georgia on Saturday thatkilled five people and injured four others, PEOPLE confirms.
Mark Mckinnon, public affairs officer for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said on Monday that “Mark Christopher Stegall, age 45, of Savannah was arrested for boating under the influence in the incident.”
It is unclear if Stegall has been formally charged for his alleged role in the fatal crash or retained an attorney who can speak to the allegation on his behalf.
McKinnon tells PEOPLE that at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Georgia game wardens responded to a boating incident near the Oatland Island Wildlife Center docks where Richardson Creek and the Wilmington River meet in Chatham County.
Witnesses told authorities two center console boats carrying nine combined passengers — six in one vessel and three in the other — crashed into each other head-on while traveling in opposite directions. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three were initially missing, McKinnon said.
Game wardens, Chatham County Marine Patrol, Savannah Fire, Chatham Emergency Services, and the United States Coast Guard immediately began searching for the missing victims using sector scan sonar and divers. Two helicopters were also deployed to aid in the search, according to McKinnon.
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The deceased individuals have been identified as Christopher David Leffler, age 51, of Savannah; Lori Lynn Leffler, age 50, of Savannah; Zachary James Leffler, age 23, of Alpharetta; Nathan Leffler, age 17, of Savannah; and Robert Steven Chauncey, age 37, of Savannah.
source: people.com
