Charter captain piloting boat in Florida Keys crash that injured 7, including child, charged with DUI
KEY WEST — The charter captain piloting the boat that crashed into a Florida Keys bridge back in July and injured seven people, including a child, was arrested this week on drunk boating charges.
Laurence Lee Lewis Jr., 42, of Big Pine Key, was taken into custody and charged with boating under the influence, child neglect and seven additional misdemeanors, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said Thursday.
The crash
In the early morning hours of July 8, 2024, a 35-foot-long Sea Hunter center console boat hit the South Pine Channel bridge at a "high rate of speed," the Monroe County Sheriff's Office told CBS News Miami during the week of the crash.
Bodycam video from the rescue showed crews quickly responding to the scene, pulling people off the vessel as it began to sink. According to the FWC's initial incident report, all seven people on board were either "ejected or stuck amongst the pieces" of the boat during the rescue.
Two of those victims, a 28-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy, had to be airlifted to the hospital for serious injuries. The other four were sent to nearby hospitals for their injuries as well.
In their first report, the FWC stated that alcohol did appear to be a factor in the crash but no arrests were made at the time.
According to the FWC's latest update, the boat passengers had allegedly seen Lewis drinking alcohol throughout the day leading up to the crash and alcoholic bottles and paraphernalia were found at the scene.
