Man pleads guilty in first conviction of death by impaired boating in North Carolina
For the first time, the courts used Sheyenne’s Law to convict a man who killed three people while boating impaired in 2020.
Matthew Ferster pleaded guilty in Brunswick County to three counts of death by impaired boating.
He was sentenced to 9 1/2 to 18 years in prison.
Channel 9′s Dan Matic spoke with the father behind the law, who said this justice brings little comfort.
On July 4, 2015, Kenneth Marshall’s daughter Sheyenne was knee-boarding on Lake Norman when she was run over and killed by a drunk boater.
“When our daughter was killed, it was basically a $200 to $250 crime for someone that was drinking or impaired,” Marshall explained.
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Marshall said after seeing the person responsible get off with just probation, he went to work with North Carolina lawmakers.
After lots of hard work, he was able to pass Sheyenne’s Law, which imposes stricter penalties if someone causes a death or injury while boating impaired.
“Hopefully people will be educated about what it will cost them if they go out and drink and boat,” Marshall said. “So we wanted to push to make sure no other families would go through what we went through. Sheyenne would have been proud that her legacy lives on and that she’ll be helping people even though she’s gone.”
VIDEO: 11-year-old girl killed in SC boating accident
