A man in Kentucky faces 19 charges after authorities say he rammed a wake boat into a parked pontoon boat, killed a man, and put another man into a coma — then drove off as if nothing happened.
The Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources announced on Wednesday that authorities have charged Cody Casey, 34, with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 25-year-old Nazar Svintozelskiy.
Authorities also charged the defendant with first-degree assault, third-degree fleeing or evading police, 11 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, fourth-degree assault, failure to render aid, failure to report an accident involving more than $500 in property damage or involving injury or death, and leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
On July 4, Casey operated a wake boat on Herrington Lake in Kentucky, authorities said. At the same time, Svintozelskiy sat on a stationary pontoon boat with his family.
The lake was “crowded” on the holiday weekend, according to a lawsuit the victims’ families filed against Casey, per Lexington NBC affiliate WLEX. And Casey apparently drove a 2017 Axis watercraft “in a reckless and dangerous manner by driving at an excessive rate of speed, performing repeated ‘donuts’ and other erratic maneuvers in close proximity to boaters.”
Casey allegedly struck the parked pontoon head-on and “overrode” it. The pontoon threw Svintozelskiy into the water, and it “seriously injured” the man’s 58-year-old father.
The defendant then reportedly left the scene without helping. The lawsuit alleges negligence, gross negligence, failure to render aid, and punitive damages, per the local outlet.
A GoFundMe set up for the victims in the following days said doctors put the father in a medically induced coma, “and although his condition has been stabilized, the extent of his injuries and path to recovery is unknown.”
Crews did not recover Svintozelskiy’s body from the lake until two days later. The Mercer County Fire District said crews pulled his body from water that reached depths of 184 feet.
The Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources said its investigation included 13 search warrants, witness interviews, and forensic and evidentiary testing. Authorities arrested Casey on Tuesday and booked him into the Boyle County Detention Center before transferring him to the Woodford County Detention Center.
Casey is being held on $1 million bond.
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