Lake Murray boat crash victim set to take huge step with the help of Dawn Staley
One Midlands family is trying to turn a tragedy into something positive.
And they’re getting some help from Dawn Staley, coach of the top-ranked University of South Carolina women’s basketball team.
The Gamecocks coach is trying to bring awareness to Safe the Lake. That’s the boating safety organization formed by the Kiser family, who were involved in a deadly crash on Lake Murray last September.
Shawn Kiser was heading home after a day on the lake with her husband, Stan, and daughter Morgan.
Moments before they would have gotten off the water, their boat was hit and run over by the driver of a “cigarette,” or speed boat, according to Capt. Robert McCullough of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The 53-year-old man who piloted the other boat has been charged with felony boating under the influence resulting in death and two counts of felony boating under the influence resulting in great bodily injury, according to the state Department of Natural Resources and Richland County court records.
Stan Kiser, 68, was killed in the crash, while Shawn and Morgan were injured.
Shawn suffered severe trauma and her leg was so seriously injured it was amputated.
“She lost the love of her life and her leg all in the blink of an eye,” Morgan said, calling the crash a “real-life horror story.”
Those dramatic changes left Shawn with a new reality, one that included learning how to use a prosthetic leg. Shawn was in such fragile condition the day she left the hospital for rehabilitation, Morgan said, she could not attend Stan’s funeral.
But Shawn has not wavered.
“The fact that she is able to continue to live with such passion, is hands down incredible,” Morgan said.
That has inspired Morgan and the entire family, including Morgan’s siblings Sloan and Pierce, to form Safe the Lake.
Its purpose is to limit boating collisions on Lake Murray and other South Carolina waterways while creating a safe environment on the water.
Since launching the organization, close to 4,500 people have become members on Facebook. There’s a survey on the Facebook page and the website where participants can share opinions and concerns in an effort to make Lake Murray safer.
Others have been inspired by the family’s story. That includes Staley.
The USC coach took it upon herself to pay a visit to Shawn at Encompass Health Rehabilitation in January.
Staley asked Shawn to go for a walk shortly after they met. Still unsure of her ability to use the prosthetic leg, Shawn hesitated. Staley did not.
Morgan said the NCAA championship-winning basketball coach willed Shawn up for a stroll during her two-hour visit.
“Dawn is amazing, for so many reasons. It isn’t hard to understand why she is so successful. She took time out of her busy schedule, during basketball season nonetheless, to come to Encompass and inspire Shawn to walk and live her ‘new normal’ to the fullest,” Morgan said.
Before she left the rehabilitation facility, Staley invited Shawn to go on another walk. But this one would be at Colonial Life Arena.
Staley invited Shawn to walk across the Gamecocks’ basketball court at halftime of Sunday’s game against Texas A&M. Rather than rushing into the locker room, Staley will walk side by side with Shawn in front of the crowd at the noon game, according to Diana Koval, director of communications for USC women’s basketball.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall, but I’m going to do it,” a smiling Shawn said.
It will be much more than a walk to Morgan.
“Coach Staley’s visit and challenge to walk across the basketball court gave Shawn something that is so important for everyone who lives — hope. This challenge, along with the support of our amazing community, has helped Shawn’s recovery immensely,” Morgan said. “Coach Staley didn’t have to do any of the things that she is doing, but she did and that speaks volumes about her character. What a beautiful soul.”
Taking the floor at the USC game has a special significance for the Kisers. Stan was a USC alum and loved Gamecock athletics, frequently taking his family to football and basketball games, according to Morgan.
Morgan is optimistic the walk will shed more light on Safe the Lake and safety awareness.
“We want to save lives. We don’t want anyone else to end up in our situation,” Morgan said. “We don’t want anyone else to die.”
One of the missions the Kisers hope to realize with the organization is to get boaters better educated before hitting the water. They draw parallels to operating vehicles on land, pointing out it isn’t legal to operate an 18-wheeler, or motorcycle, if you only have a regular driver’s license.
Currently the only people required to have a boating license in South Carolina are those younger than 16 years old who are unaccompanied by an adult and are operating a vehicle with 15 horsepower or more, according to state law.
Riding on the water can be daunting because there are usually no traffic lanes and very little regulation.
Boating at night is another chief concern. The Kisers’ boat was hit at about 9 p.m., McCullough said.
Even though the Kisers’ crash happened in between two no-wake spots, marked by the Rusty Anchor restaurant and Liberty on the Lake Tap Room & Grill, Morgan called that part of Lake Murray “a death trap.”
“You can’t see and people don’t slow down,” Shawn said.
Long term, the Kisers would like mandatory safety education for boaters, more safety lighting built on boats, and even a rideshare service for people who made the mistake of drinking while boating — an Uber for Lake Murray.
“We want to save people so they don’t have to go through this, even if they don’t know they’ve been saved,” Morgan said. “To be honest this is giving us all a reason to live.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
