Steven Brent ParkerGWINNETT COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A Cumming man faces charges in a boating accident on Lake Lanier that killed one person and seriously injured another April 21, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
DNR Wildlife Resources Division rangers charged Steven Brent Parker, 32, with homicide by vessel, serious injury by vessel, boating under the influence and reckless operation of a vessel.
According to the DNR, Parker was operating a ski boat that collided with a pontoon boat before midnight near Buford Dam on the Gwinnett side of Lanier.
Stephen Blake Jones, 59, of Duluth, was operating the pontoon boat. Sharon Ezell of Milledgeville was also on it.
Parker and his passenger, Ashley LeBlanc, of Cumming, swam from their damaged boat to shore and flagged down a motorist.
Rescuers found Jones' body in the water. The pontoon boat with Ezell still aboard was found about five hours after the incident was reported.
Ezell was taken in serious condition to an area hospital. Parker and LeBlanc were treated at a local hospital and released.
The DNR's Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is continuing to investigate the incident.
If convicted, Parker could face up to 20 years in prison.
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