WINSTON COUNTY, Ala. – William Jackson Fite, 23, of Decatur, the driver of the boat from which Kelsey Starling, 26, of Troy disappeared during a collision July 4, 2019 on Smith Lake, and who was charged with boating under the influence in the case, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge this week.
At the time of his arrest following the two-boat collision, Fite was accused of being under the influence of a “substance which impairs the mental or physical faculties of the person to a degree which renders the person incapable of safely driving.”
The incident was the defendant’s first offense. Under the terms of his plea deal, Fite received two years of unsupervised probation and agreed to attend a court referral program and pay $2,100 in fines plus a $70 bail bond fee.
Last week, Nick Bowling Suggs, 50, and Jodi Wallace Suggs, 50, both of Decatur, who were in the other boat involved in the collision, were each indicted in Winston County on one charge of criminally negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor that could carry a sentence of up to one year in prison. Each surrendered and was released the same day on a $3,000 surety bond from a Birmingham bail bond service.
Both indictments read: “….did with criminal negligence cause the death of another person, Kelsey Starling by striking the vessel she was aboard causing her to be thrown there from…”
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), which is handling the investigation into the fatal crash, said officials from the 25th Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Winston County will prosecute the cases.
Cullman attorney Jason Knight, who is representing the couple, issued the following statement on the day following the arrests:
It was widely reported yesterday that Mr. and Ms. Nick Suggs were arrested, jailed and behind bars in connection with new charges stemming from the tragic boating accident that occurred on the evening of July 4th on Rock Creek at Smith Lake. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
We were informed that there were two misdemeanor warrants against the Suggs in Winston County, Alabama. Through the cooperation of the Winston County Sheriff’s office, the Suggs turned themselves in at a designated time. They were booked in on the misdemeanor warrants, immediately bonded out and were released. They were treated with the utmost respect and professionalism by the Winston County Sheriff’s Office and jail personnel.
Mr. and Ms. Suggs are as fine a class of people as you would ever meet. They are universally loved and respected in their personal and business communities. They have both cooperated with the investigation of this boating accident since day one. It is confounding to us that the Alabama Marine Police Officer has now filed charges against the driver of BOTH the vessels involved in this wreck. It makes zero sense. At any rate, the Suggs vehemently deny the misdemeanor charges against them and look forward to being vindicated and put an end to this nightmare. They also want to extend their heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all the families affected by this tragic accident and in particular to Kelsey and the Starling family.
Starling was a passenger in a 2012 Mastercraft wakeboard boat involved in a two-boat crash in the Rock Creek area of Smith Lake at approximately 10 p.m. July 4. Efforts to recover Starling’s body have so far been unsuccessful.
Starling was a speech language pathologist at Tuggle Elementary School in Birmingham.
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