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Written by K Bishop
Published August 19, 2022 @ 3:03 PM ET
A Wilmington River boat crash on Memorial Day weekend left 5 dead and 3 others injured after a local restaurant owner navigated his boat into the wrong section of the waterway where the crash occurred.
According to local reports, and an investigation by the Department of Natural Resources and local police, 46-year-old Mark Christopher Stegall of Pooler was operating his boat in the wrong direction on the Wilmington River on May 28, 2022 when a second vessel collided with the boat owned by Stegall.
Four of five members of the Leffler family in the second vessel were killed in the crash. A friend of Stegall’s who was a passenger on Stegall’s boat was also killed. Three others were seriously injured.
On August 17, a grand jury indicted Stegall on 18 Counts in the incident, including 10 Counts of ‘Homicide by Vessel in the First Degree’- 2 counts per victim of the accident. One count per death is due to ‘Operating a Vessel under the Influence’ and the other count due to ‘Reckless Operation of a Vessel’. Stegall was also charged with 6 counts of ‘Serious injury by Vessel’, ‘Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence (Less Safe)’, and ‘Reckless Operation of a Vessel’.
According to reports, Stegall had been drinking the day of the accident, but did not exceed the legal limit.
Stegall is the owner of Wild Wing Cafe in Pooler and Mellow Mushroom in Hiram.
A bond hearing scheduled for today, August 19, 2022 at 12:30PM was canceled upon attorney’s request just before the hearing was to take place. Court documents show Stegall has not yet been booked into the Chatham County Jail.