CHAPIN, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) continues to investigate an accident on Lake Murray that left one person and dead and caused another to lose a leg.
This past Saturday, officials say they responded to Lake Murray, near the Rusty's Anchor and Catfish Johnny restaurant, at 9 p.m. Law enforcement says a man operating a cigarette boat crashed into a pontoon boat carrying three people.
One man died and another woman lost one of her legs, officials say.
SCDNR identifies the man operating the cigarette boat as 53-year-old Tracy Gordon. They are charging him with one count of felony Boating Under the Influence (BUI) resulting in death, and two counts of felony BUI resulting in great bodily harm.
Richland County Corner Gary Watts has identified the man who died from the incident as 68-year-old Stanley Virgil Kiser of Chapin. Mr. Kiser died at the scene. An autopsy indicated that the cause of death was due to multiple massive blunt force traumas to the head and torso.
Kiser's wife lost a leg in the incident and his daughter sustained head injures. Both women were transported to a local hospital.
Gordon and his wife, who were on the cigarette boat, were not injured.
Since the accident on Saturday night, SCDNR, the Richland County Sheriff's Department and the Richland County Coroner's Office have been investigating the incident.
1st Sgt. Hunter Robinson with SCDNR says they're working on collecting all the evidence.
"The purpose of the investigation is to completely reconstruct the collision and look at all the factors that caused it and ultimately come out with what caused it and how it can be avoided in the future," said Robinson.
Robinson says there could be more charges coming depending on what they discover in the investigation.
SCDNR has taken both boats in for evidence as part of standard procedure.
"When we have collisions like this, we do take the boats because they are a part of evidence and we need all parts of the boat that we can gather to have the totality of the crash to make an informed decision from the evidence that we have," explained Robinson.
Robinson says there's no boat size or speed limit out on Lake Murray there's a law that regulates speed when it comes to being "too fast for conditions in a congested area" and things of that nature.
Law enforcement says the crash happened outside of the wake zone in the lake.
Robinson says accidents can always happen. While Labor Day weekend is traditionally referred to as the unofficial end to summer, the 1st Sgt. says a lot of people still stay out on the lake almost year round because of the South Carolina weather.
"Anytime there is a crash, it's tragic," said Robinson. "There's friends and family involved, the public that was near that night and everybody that was involved ... it's bad for the first responders and everyone. But obviously our hearts go out to the families involved in this."
Officials say it's important you stay aware of your surrounding while you're out on the boat to protect your safety.
News 19 will continue to update you once more details become available on the investigation.