NORTH CAROLINA, USA — A man was sentenced in North Carolina's first conviction for death by impaired boating.
In March 2020, three people died in a boating crash and Matthew Ferster of Brunswick County pleaded guilty to three counts of death by impaired boating, also known as Sheyenne’s Law, on Aug.28.
A judge sentenced Ferster to 9 ½ to 18 ½ years in prison for his role in a crash that took the lives of Jennifer Hayes, 26, Megan Lynn, 21, and Garret Smith, 21, all of Columbus County.
The investigation lasted three years as it led up to the first conviction of Sheyenne’s Law in the state.
MORE ABOUT SHEYENNE'S LAW
Sheyenne’s Law, passed in July 2016, increases the penalty for impaired boating that results in a death or serious injury.
The law was named in memory of 17-year-old Sheyenne Marshall from Concord. She was killed by an impaired boater as she was knee-boarding on Lake Norman in July 2015.
After learning that boating while impaired was only a Class 2 misdemeanor, Marshall’s family lobbied the N.C. General Assembly for tougher penalties for impaired boating, and a year later, the legislature passed “Sheyenne’s Law.”
Sheyenne’s Law is another tool in place to help officers keep the public safe while on the water; however, they would rather prevent incidents than punish offenders by creating and enforcing proactive protocols such as launching boat safety inspections, and educational opportunities on and off the water.
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