Background: Herrington Lake in Kentucky, where authorities say the crash occurred (WDKY/YouTube). Inset left: Cody Casey (Boyle County Detention Center). Inset right: Nazar Svintozelskiy (GoFundMe).
A man in Kentucky faces 19 charges after authorities say he rammed into a parked pontoon boat, killing a man and putting another in a coma — and then drove off as if nothing happened.
Cody Casey, 34, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 25-year-old Nazar Svintozelskiy, the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources announced on Wednesday.
The defendant also faces charges of 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 was operating a wake boat on Herrington Lake in Kentucky, authorities said. At the same time, Svintozelskiy was on a stationary pontoon boat with his family.
The lake was "crowded" on the holiday weekend, according to a lawsuit filed against Casey by the victims' families, per Lexington NBC affiliate WLEX. And Casey was apparently driving 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. Svintozelskiy was thrown into the water, and the man's 58-year-old father was "seriously injured."
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 the father was put in a medically induced coma, "and although his condition has been stabilized, the extent of his injuries and path to recovery is unknown."
Svintozelskiy's body was not recovered from the lake until two days later. The Mercer County Fire District said his body was pulled 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. Casey was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Boyle County Detention Center before being transferred to the Woodford County Detention Center.
Casey is being held on $1 million bond.
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