Atlanta Man Charged With Felonies After Boat Crash Injures Four Near Bay Harbor Islands

A 42-year-old Atlanta resident has been charged with three felonies stemming from a weekend boating accident that injured four people in the waters near Bay Harbor Islands. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators determined that Daniel Lawson was operating a 38-foot Donzi at excessive speed when the collision occurred early Saturday morning in the Intracoastal Waterway off Haulover Sandbar.

According to FWC records, Lawson’s vessel was traveling at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone when it struck a 20-foot Angler boat heading in the opposite direction at approximately 1:15 a.m. Two passengers on the smaller vessel sustained severe injuries: a juvenile suffered a hairline skull fracture, while an adult female experienced a collapsed lung, multiple fractured ribs, fluid around the lung, and a lacerated spleen. Two additional passengers aboard Lawson’s boat were also injured in the impact.

Rather than remaining at the accident scene, Lawson fled southward before returning north and anchoring his vessel at Haulover Sandbar. He subsequently contacted a towing company to remove the boat from the water without reporting the incident or providing assistance to the injured parties. FWC investigators documented that Lawson’s actions appeared designed to prevent law enforcement from fully examining and preserving the vessel as evidence.

Lawson claimed his boat had been anchored throughout the evening, a statement contradicted by witness testimony, physical evidence, electronic vessel data, and investigative findings. He was arrested Sunday afternoon and charged with reckless vessel operation causing serious injury, leaving the scene of a boating accident with injuries, and attempted evidence tampering. As of Monday morning, Lawson remained in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $45,000 bond.