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Witnesses needed to fatal crash
By David Goodwin
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The Marine Police who patrol Lake Martin have invested more than 300 man-hours into the investigation of a fatal boat collision Aug. 9 that left a Prattville man dead and a 22-year-old charged with homicide.
Montgomery resident Patrick Cumbie was charged with homicide by vessel and boating under the influence following a fatal boat collision near Real Island Marina Aug. 9.
Marine Police Capt. Matt Brooks said investigators had determined that, in addition to the two boats involved in the crash and another which towed the pontoon boat to Kowaliga Marina, a fourth boat towed in Cumbie’s Legacy runabout.
“We really need to talk with those folks as soon as possible,” Brooks said.
After two weeks of lakebound dragnets, random stops and a request to the public for information, Brooks said they’ve located the driver of the fourth boat. But they haven’t yet gleaned new details from the witness.
“As we began investigating, we realized that our witnesses were scattered all over the state,” Brooks said, noting the boaters enjoying Lake Martin on a weekend often live in distant parts of the state.
On just one of the boats, witnesses hailed from Huntsville, Selma and Tuscaloosa, so “it’s taking a good bit of time to track them all down and talk to them.”
“You never know what little piece of information will help us out,” Brook said.
Near midnight Aug. 9, Cumbie allegedly piloted his boat over some people swimming in open water around their pontoon boat, before crashing into the other vessel. The Legacy runabout’s impact and slicing propeller are believed to have killed 62-year-old Donny Tatum and critically injured his sister-in-law, Sue Tatum.
Marine Police Sgt. Gary Buchanan ” who worked the accident near Old Harmony Slough and Real Island Marina ” said Cumbie twice tested above the legal blood-alcohol limit, once at the scene of the crash, and again at Sinclair’s Kowaliga restaurant. The crashed boats, and their occupants, were taken to meet ambulances dispatched to Sinclair’s.
Brooks said his officers have already interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including the other nine pontoon boat passengers, Cumbie’s passenger’s on the runabout, and customers and employees at the restaurant.
Still in search of new details, Brooks asked anyone who has information regarding the accident to please call the Marine Police district office at 1-800-439-7389 or 256-329-2268.
“We’re going to collect all info we can,” Brooks said, “and as soon as we’re able, we will give a copy of our report to District Attorney (Randall Houston) and await the Grand Jury’s findings.
The Marine Police have also conducted checkpoints on Lake Martin Saturday, seeking boaters who might have information on the crash. While no new leads have surfaced yet, the checkpoints paid dividends over the weekend.
Brooks said Marine Police officers arrested a Dothan man and two Montgomery men Saturday night on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
“We were actually conducting a checkpoint, canvassing for any witnesses who may have witnessed the fatal accident from the week before, when this happened,” Capt. Matt Brooks said.
Officers Mark Fuller and Brad Harrison were talking to the men aboard a Sea Ray runabout when they saw what appeared to be a metal marijuana pipe in plain view aboard the boat.
“That led to further investigation and during the course of examining the boat, the officers found additional drug evidence,” Brooks said, “including what is believed to be cocaine.”
The men were arrested and taken to the Elmore County Jail in Wetumpka. They were charged with second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
