Sumter man found guilty in 2014 fatal boating accident

A Clarendon County jury found a Sumter man guilty on Friday for failure to render aid for his part in a July 2014 boating incident that claimed the life of Hailey Joanne Bordeaux, 21, of Sumter.

Chad Morris, 40, of 2661 Tindal Road, received a five-year sentence for failure to render aid and a 30-day sentence and $500 fine for negligent operation of a watercraft after the boat he was operating struck an idling boat with four passengers, including Bordeaux, on Lake Marion during the early morning hours of July 4, 2014.

"You have a duty when you are the operator of a boat to come to the aid of the victim," Ninth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Roger Young Sr. said. "What hurt you is your conduct after the accident; the way you and the people in your boat acted did not do you justice. You needed to make sure people who were injured were assisted."

According to testimony presented Thursday by Morris' friend, Franklin Card, 29, of Sumter, who was in the boat with him the night of the crash, there was a verbal confrontation between individuals in the two boats immediately after the crash.

Morris, Card and Card's now estranged wife, Jessica Long, occupants of the boat, left the scene, saying they did not want the verbal confrontation to escalate and that their boat had begun to fill with water.

They went to a friend's house.

Shortly after arriving at the friend's house, they received a call from another friend who said South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officers were looking for them.

DNR arrested Morris at his friend's house about an hour after the incident, Third Judicial Circuit Court Assistant Solicitor Chris DuRant said in his closing arguments Friday.

"Nobody in this courtroom believes Chad Morris intended to kill Hailey Bordeaux," DuRant said. "He intended to drive fast, however, to drive recklessly. We're here today because of his indifference. He sure as heck did not care what happened afterwards."

DuRant said in his closing argument that according to Long's testimony, after Morris arrived at his friend's house, a boat left a dock at the house to go survey the scene of the crash. Morris, however, chose not to get on that boat, DuRant said.

"A boat left to see what kind of trouble Morris was in, to survey the scene, and he did not get in that boat," DuRant said. "He and his friend were checking out the damage to his own boat instead of going to talk to law enforcement or first responders about what had happened. That's failure to render aid; that's failure to provide information."

DuRant said according to testimony from Morris' friend, Rusty Harrington, Harrington encouraged him to go speak with law enforcement.

"Morris said, however, 'I ain't going tonight, I'll talk with them in the morning,'" he said. "That statement tells us that he was indifferent and also proof that he had not called 911. He believed it was an option to not speak to law enforcement until the next morning."

Morris' attorney, Shaun Kent, said after the trial the way the failure to render aid statute is written makes it impossible to comply.

"The law requires if you are involved in a collision to give written notice to the other party involved in the accident," Kent said. "The problem is that usually does not happen realistically. If a judge says, for example, that you can't have contact with the other family, you're technically in violation of the law. You also have to personally give information to someone who may not want to communicate with you."

Kent said he is considering appealing the case based on the statute.

Bordeaux's father, Shawn Bordeaux, said the results of Friday's case gave him a sense of closure.

"I feel the outcome was fair," he said. "I hope it sends a message out and potentially saves a life."

The Bordeaux family has advocated for a statewide law that could establish idle speeds or speed limits on the water after dark, called "Hailey's Law." The law has been introduced by state Sen. Thomas McElveen, D-Sumter.