Georgia man arrested in boat crash that kills 9-year-old boy

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Authorities said on Tuesday they arrested a man suspected of being drunk when he crashed his fishing boat into a pontoon boat, killing a 9-year-old boy and injuring three other passengers on a popular lake north of Atlanta.

A search was underway for a missing 13-year-old boy who fell overboard during the incident.

The driver of the fishing boat, Paul J. Bennett, 44, of Cumming, Georgia, left the scene after his boat struck the flat-bottomed boat carrying 13 passengers at about 10:30 p.m. Monday on Lake Lanier, said Melissa Cummings, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Bennett been charged with boating under the influence of alcohol, Cummings said.

Three passengers on the pontoon boat were treated at a local hospital for injuries sustained in the collision, she said.

In 2011, there were 758 boating deaths in the United States, up from 672 in 2010, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

(Reporting By David Beasley; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jackie Frank)

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