Blizzard, convicted in fatal 2008 boat crash, settles new environmental claims

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·3 min read

Sep. 7—A woman convicted of killing her best friend in a boat crash on Lake Winnipesaukee in 2008 has agreed to pay the state $100,000 to settle allegations she interfered with an investigation by environmental officials at the marina she owns and operates, officials said.

The state's Department of Environmental Services and Attorney General's Office announced Thursday Belknap County Superior Court has approved a settlement between Erica Blizzard and Blizzard Inc. d/b/a Lakeport Landing Marina ("Lakeport Landing") and the state related to Underground Storage Tank Act violations at the Laconia marina.

Lakeport Landing Marina operates on Lake Winnipesaukee and sells boats, boat slips and gasoline, officials said in a news release.

State prosecutors filed a petition for civil penalties (the "petition") in Belknap County Superior Court alleging that between Aug. 30 and Sept. 17, 2021, Lakeport Landing violated several provisions of the Underground Storage Tank Act.

The petition alleged Lakeport Landing employees severed a fuel line on or about Aug. 30, 2021, while making repairs to its dock.

The petition alleged Lakeport Landing employees, under the direction of Blizzard, "did not adequately or timely notify NHDES, made an unauthorized and inadequate repair to the fuel line, and continued dispensing fuel from the compromised system."

The petition alleged that Blizzard hampered NHDES's investigation into the fuel line damage until NHDES confronted her with evidence of the damage and illicit repair on Sept. 17, 2021.

"Once Blizzard was aware of NHDES' knowledge regarding the illicit repair, she cooperated with NHDES personnel by capping the fuel line and shutting down the affected portion until it could be properly repaired," officials said in a news release.

Lakeport Landing and Blizzard did not admit to the facts contained in the petition, but agreed to pay a penalty of $100,000 as part of an agreement to settle the allegations, with $35,000 of the penalty suspended for 10 years provided Lakeport Landing complies with Underground Storage Tank laws and rules.

Blizzard made headlines in 2010 when she was convicted of causing the death of her best friend, Stephanie Beaudoin, in a boating accident on Lake Winnipesaukee in 2008 and sentenced to a year in jail. She served six months in jail and six months of electronic home confinement.

In the early hours of the morning on June 15, 2008, Blizzard, 38, carrying two passengers, was piloting a 37-foot motorboat on Lake Winnipesaukee. There was almost no visibility due to dark and inclement weather conditions. As she later told investigators, she was unable to see the bow of her boat. She was operating the boat at 18 to 20 miles per hour, unsure of her location and checking her depth gauges, when the boat collided with Diamond Island. The collision killed Beaudoin and seriously injured a second passenger.

As a result of the collision, Blizzard was charged with boating while intoxicated and negligent homicide. A jury found her guilty of negligent homicide, but not guilty of boating while intoxicated.

In June, 2010, the Department of Safety suspended her privilege to operate a boat pursuant to RSA 270-E:17, which authorizes the department to revoke or suspend operating privileges for any violation of RSA chapters 270, 270-A, 270-B or 270-E.

Blizzard appealed, with the state Supreme Court affirming DES's decision in 2012.