Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Name:

E-mail:

Phone Number:

Zip Code:

Your Question:

Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Boating Accidents

In a surprise announcement Mark de Tournillon Sr decided to plead guilty to 2 counts of manslaughter in exchange for a recommendation of a sentence of 15 years.

De Tournillon, 46, told investigators he was going "only" 65 mph when he crashed into the Lewises' boat the night of August 20, 2005 on Smith Mountain Lake, about 100 miles west of Richmond, Virginia. He was the owner of Shoreline Marina and a 35-foot Donzi 38ZR.

The night of the accident he apparently got into an argument with the bartender at a restaurant over the right way to make a "dirty martini on the rocks." De Tournillon had at least one martini and one glass of wine, along with some painkillers that night.

Blood tests taken several hours after the accident showed de Tournillon's blood-alcohol content to be 0.12 percent -- well above the 0.08 level at which someone is presumed too drunk to operate a vehicle.