BIG PINE KEY, Fla. – A charter boat captain in the Florida Keys is facing nearly a dozen charges in connection with a boat crash that left himself and several others seriously hurt over the summer.
Authorities said Laurence Lee Lewis, 42, of Big Pine Key, was under the influence of alcohol while at the helm off of Little Torch Key on July 8, 2024.
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The crash happened at around 2 a.m. at the South Pine Channel Bridge. Authorities said at the time that Lewis was operating the “fishing charter vessel” when he slammed into the bridge “at an unsafe speed,” injuring himself and seven passengers.
The passengers, ranging in age from 11 to 38, were all from northern Florida: Six were from Live Oak and another was from Lake City. All eight people aboard were hurt in the crash; three had to be airlifted to Miami-area hospitals. The 11-year-old passenger suffered a brain bleed, authorities said.
Investigators told Local 10 News that Lewis was believed to have been drinking throughout the whole trip and officials with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office said his captain’s license had expired. They said they found tequila and beer cans and bottles amid the wreckage.
An arrest warrant states that authorities also found a sunglasses case with “needles, syringes, a spoon and cotton,” along with a white pill of buprenorphine, a synthetic opiate.
Blood testing revealed that Lewis had amphetamines and methamphetamines in his system, the warrant states. Investigators said they were able to perform extrapolation calculations on a sample taken several hours after the crash that established that his blood alcohol content was over .08% at the time of the wreck.
The warrant states that Lewis, who ran Nauti Tails Fishing Charters, “asked to pay a paying passenger to say he was operating the vessel due to his own belief that he was intoxicated.”
On Tuesday, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lewis near his home on Cypress Drive on three felony counts of BUI causing serious bodily injury and one felony count of child neglect causing great bodily harm.
He’s also facing seven misdemeanor BUI, reckless boating and possession of drug equipment charges.
Online records show he was released from MCSO’s Key West jail facility Wednesday morning after posting a $195,000 bond.
Local 10 News reporter Janine Stanwood contributed to this report.