Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan this afternoon responded to allegations made in a lawsuit filed by the parents of a 15-year-old boy who died after two boats collided in the Wateree River on May 5.
The boy’s parents, Melissa Branham and Shane Newman, filed the lawsuit Monday against two named defendants — Zach Cameron and Trent Mathis — and five “John Doe” entities, all identified as for-profit and/or convenience gas stations. shops. His son refers to the lawsuit as “CN.” Cameron is named as the operator of the vessel CN was on; Mathis as the operator of the boat that hit Cameron’s, killing CN.
Defendants in the lawsuit do not include the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), Boan or his deputies. However, the lawsuit alleges certain purchases and/or connections not only to members of the KCSO, but also to Kershaw County Coroner David West, as well as members of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of SC, which act as law enforcement agencies. waterways of the state. The lawsuit identifies West as Cameron’s grandfather and alleges that his presence at the scene influenced the crash investigation and affected the case in other ways. It also identifies Cameron as the nephew of “elite members” of the sheriff’s office.
The lawsuit alleges that at least some, if not all, of the occupants of at least one of the boats became intoxicated by alcohol sold by the five gas stations/convenience stores in Cameron, which the lawsuit alleges was minor 21 years old he also alleges that Cameron was intoxicated and should not have been operating his ship. It also alleges that Mathis “was required to exercise due and reasonable care while operating his vessel, including refraining from running in the middle of the river, or so near other vessels, and having regard to the speed and lighting to avoid a catastrophic collision”.
As CI reported after CN’s death, it was around 10:00 p.m. on May 5 with the two boats — now known to be operated by Cameron and Mathis — traveling in opposite directions in the middle of river Wateree, both headed for a blind bend. The lawsuit alleges that they did so while “running at full speed and with light bars, knowing that doing so would result in impaired visibility, and that driving in the middle of the canal at high speed would exponentially increase the risk of a collision inevitable damage”.
As the two boats approached, Cameron and Mathis swerved to miss the other, but the front of Mathis’ boat hit the back of Cameron’s boat where CN was sitting. Mathis’ boat collided with CN, fatally injuring him.
Although the KCSO, Boan and their deputies were not named as defendants, the suit alleges that members of “law enforcement” told Cameron, Mathis and the other juveniles to throw residual trash into the boats, which the lawsuit alleges would include signs of alcohol. He also alleges that the KCSO and DNR “did not press further” to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.
In response to these and other allegations related to the lawsuit, Boan issued the following statement this afternoon:
“On the evening of May 5th, two of my deputies were dispatched to the Patriots Landing boat ramp in Lugoff due to a boating accident on the Wateree River. My deputies arrived and began assisting EMS with a seriously injured boater. Deputies then secured the vessels involved and identified everyone involved. Within 10 minutes, my deputies turned over everything they had to the investigating authorities as soon as they arrived. Neither the KCSO nor does the KC Coroner’s Office have jurisdiction over boating accident investigations.
“None of the responding KCSO deputies are from Kershaw County. None of the deputies knew anyone involved or their families. None of the deputies observed any indicators of alcohol consumption or saw any compromised evidence.
“I never went to the scene that night because I was already at the scene of another major incident. I can’t tell you personally what happened with the boat accident, but I can tell you that the two deputies from the KCSO had their body cameras on. All video was released to all investigative authorities involved. I have personally reviewed this video footage and did not see anything done improperly by my deputies or anyone else recorded on their videos. For now, no one outside the investigation — not even his lawyers — has been able to see these images.
“I look forward to the day when the body camera footage of the two deputies can be released to the public. Until that day comes, I have confidence in all the agencies currently involved in this investigation. We ask that you continue to have a little patience more to give investigative agencies time to complete this process and take whatever action they deem appropriate. We look forward to the release of the videos and reports that clarify and address the events of that night. But we cannot allow our emotions and assumptions obscure the facts or investigation of this case.
“Please continue to pray for the family. They deserve to know what happened. All agencies involved are doing everything they can to provide answers.”
Boan also provided copies of two incident reports to the CI, one from the night of the collision and another filed today discussing the allegations made in the lawsuit.
The May 5 boat collision report is very brief. It says (with redactions):
“On 05/05/2023 at approximately 10:23 p.m., Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) officers were dispatched to Patriot’s Landing in the Lugoff area of Kershaw County in reference to a boat accident, with a period of fifteen (15) years old man unconscious and not breathing. [Redacted] and I, [Redacted], responded to the scene in an emergent way. Upon arrival, Kershaw County Emergency Medical Services (KCEMS) and Lugoff Fire Department (LFD) personnel were on scene. A small “John boat” took the patient to Patriot’s Landing, where the patient was placed on a board and then a stretcher. The patient was placed in the back of the ambulance, where lifesaving measures were performed, but were unsuccessful. The patient succumbed to his injuries and the Kershaw County Coroner’s Office was notified. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) responded to the incident and began its investigation. The KCSO units were cleared without further ado.
“My body worn camera was activated during this incident and tagged with this case number for future reference.”
The second incident report, filed today, lists Jessica L. Fickling and J. Preston Strom Jr., the attorneys representing Branham and Newman, as complainants in a case of obstruction of justice and misconduct/embezzlement in the charge The suspects are listed as Deputies Aaron William Gochnaur and Gary Lewis Martin Jr. and Coroner West.
The report states that while the lawsuit did not name the two deputies or West, it did make criminal allegations that should be investigated. In addition to the allegation that deputies caused Cameron, Mathis and the other minors to discard trash from the boats, the report cites several allegations from the lawsuit, including:
• “According to the CAD [computer-aided dispatch] report, one of the first people on the scene was David West, the coroner-elect and grandfather of defendant Cameron.”
• “In itself, West’s immediate presence at the accident was irregular, as there was no indication of death at the time of the call.”
• “According to information obtained from witnesses, and based on information and belief, as the police began to arrive on the scene, Coroner West actively engaged with these officers and inserted himself into the investigation, saying to law enforcement that he, the coroner, had tested the children, including his grandson, for alcohol, and that alcohol was not a factor.”
• “As an additional irregularity, reports from several of the responding agencies indicate that they reported the incident to Coroner West after CN was pronounced dead. However, it is clear that Coroner West was on the scene throughout.”
The report concludes by stating, “This incident report was generated at the request of Sheriff Lee Boan due to serious allegations of obstruction of justice and misconduct in office within the jurisdiction of Kershaw County. Because KCSO deputies were identified in these allegations, Sheriff Boan requested that the SC State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigate this case.”
Not initially knowing that West might be Cameron’s grandfather, the CI contacted West as the duly elected county coroner for information about the collision the day after it occurred. West provided this information, including a statement that there was no foul play, but acknowledged that a relative of his had been on one of the boats and therefore did not investigate CN’s death himself. He then told CI that the DNR would investigate the accident and that the CN autopsy would be performed in Newberry County.
Since then, the CI had been waiting for a copy of the DNR’s final report and/or a report from any other law enforcement agency, to include SLED or the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, before releasing anything more about the collision in order to provide maximum. possible context on the case.
The CI reached out to West recently, who said he had no comment.
