No. Only one party charged with BUI.

The story I was told was the Fite boat was sitting still “with the lights” on and someone was playing guitar. The Suggs boat “also with lights on” T boned and flipped the boat. The Fite boy was not the actual driver of the boat but when he saw the Suggs boat about to hit them, hit the throttle to try and get out of the way. Hence the BUI. This is all heresay so don’t take it to the bank.

Excellent question. I disagree with this but contributory negligence is not recognized as a defense in criminal prosecutions.

By the way. Criminally negligent homicide is a misdemeanor.

Agreed. Unless DUI or BUI. Then class C felony

Why was it indicted though? I don’t have much knowledge of grand jury proceedings

Would they have been pushing for manslaughter?

I forgot about that. Whoops.

Drunks with cars, boats, guns and dang near anything else is a good recipe for something stupid bad to happen.

I thought in the State of Alabama if you are in the vehicle and are drunk as well as and knowing that the driver is drunk that you also are arrested or could be arrested for DUI.?

Agreed!

But the indictment charges the misdemeanor here.

Hypothetically, a husband and wife in a speeding pontoon boat, not paying any attention because they’re engaged in coital or pre-coital activities, which is then involved in a fatal accident, might score them both this kind of charge.

Tox results should have been back already, I would assume if either or both were intoxicated the grand jury would have charged them accordingly.

Not according to the report I read. It said that Fite was booked into jail on July 5th for BUI but posted $2000 bond and was released, but was not implicated in Starling/s death. The accident happened the night of July 4th so I doubt he was out BUI on the 5th. The Suggs had both been charged with misdemeanor criminally negligent homicide, not the felony version, which seems strange to me. If they were charged with BUI, why not go the felony route???

Unless the pontoon boaters were drunk OR sober but not at the helm of the boat or something - I don't see how they can be convicted or even to blame for hitting a boat in the middle of a giant lake at 10pm that had NO lights on whatsoever. Sad story all the way around.

Think about time a little more. Accident at 10:00pm on July 4 means you don't get booked at the county jail until the wee hours of July 5. Booking is several hours after an arrest.

None of the Suggs were charged with BUI.

That was my point. The story didn't specifically say it was tied to the accident, I was merely showing how unlikely it would have been for him, Fite, to have received a BUI in an unrelated incident on the 5th.

Oh, OK....So the Suggs were not drunk, just negligent, This is just a strange case all the way around...,

He didn't say they wasn't drunk....he just stated they wasn't charged with BUI

I think you were thrown off due to Fite being arrested for BUI but not being charged for the death. The BUI was from the incident involving the collision but that doesn’t mean he automatically would be charged with the death as well. Obviously more evidence has come to light about the other boat since then. If I am driving drunk with a passenger and some idiot rear ends me and kills the passenger, I’m still going to jail for dui but it didn’t have anything to do with the death of the passenger.