Five people were found dead and four more injured over the weekend after two center console boats crashed into each other head-on while traveling in opposite directions
Chatham County Sheriff’s Office
A 45-year-old man has been taken into custody following a boat collision in Georgia on Saturday that killed 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.
#BreakingNews @USCG, partner agencies searching for 3 men after 2 boats collided in the Wilmington River, about 1.5 miles north of Thunderbolt Marina, Saturday.
More to follow. pic.twitter.com/838wZF9TtM— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) May 28, 2022
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.
The bodies were later recovered by divers with the Chatham County Marine Patrol.
“All three missing victims were located by game wardens at approximately 9:00 a.m. Sunday in 14-foot-deep water and in close proximity to each other,” McKinnon confirmed in a statement. “The other four passengers suffered various injuries and were transported to Memorial Health Medical Center in Savannah.”
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.
The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation by Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Critical Incident Reconstruction Team (CIRT). The investigation may take six to eight weeks, authorities say.
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