Man sentenced to prison in Newberry Co. boat crash that killed 2, SCDNR says

NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) said a man from Lexington was sentenced to prison in a boat crash that killed two people in August of 2020.

SCDNR said Dylan Steele, 28, was sentenced on Oct. 10, 2022, in Newberry County court to 10 years in prison, fined $20,000, and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service after pleading guilty to two felony charges of boating under the influence resulting in death.

On Aug. 1, 2020, Steele was with a group of acquaintances hanging out and drinking alcohol on a sandbar on the Broad River in Newberry County, according to officials. Two jon boats with members of the group left the sandbar and were waiting in the river when Steele, who left the sandbar after sundown and was driving a third jon boat at a high rate of speed, crashed into one of the other boats.

Officials said victims in that boat, Jamie Lindler, 27, and Andrew Bunnell, 28, died of traumatic injuries caused by the crash.

SCDNR said the investigation was built on detailed witness statements from members of the third boat and field sobriety tests conducted by officers at a nearby boat landing.

The 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecuted the case.

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