It was a night the Prince family would like to forget. But instead, Tara Prince was forced to relive the night two of her sons were killed on Lake Lanier as the trial began Tuesday for the man accusing of boating drunk and causing the fatal collision.
The Prince family of five was among 13 people on a pontoon boat around 10:30 p.m. June 18, 2012, when in an instant, the fun turned to tragedy. That’s when investigators believe Paul Bennett was driving drunk when his boat collided with the pontoon boat, sending the two youngest Prince brothers, Jake, 9, and Griffin, 13, into the dark lake.
“An enormously loud crashing sound,” Tara Prince told the Hall County courtroom, recalling the crash. “Being stopped dead in the water. I saw stuff flying over my head and landing in the water behind us.”
Bennett, 45, of Cumming, was arrested the day after the fatal crash and charged with boating under the influence. Several weeks later, charges against Bennett were upgraded to include homicide by vessel, failure to render aid and reckless operation of a vessel.
On a Facebook page created as a memorial to the brothers, the family posted that it hoped Bennett would accept a plea deal and avoid a trial, but that did not happen. Jury selection concluded Tuesday and the trial followed.
After the boats collided on Lake Lanier, the oldest Prince brother, Ryan, jumped into the lake and pulled Jake from the water, Tara Prince said. But it would be nine days before divers located Griffin’s body, 113 feet under water.
“I hear everybody yelling on the boat, I hear them doing a head count and that’s when I realized Griffin was missing,” Tara Prince said.
Prince testified that Bennett never approached the wrecked pontoon boat or offered to help, but she could hear crying coming from the other boat.
“Sitting next to my dead little boy and thinking of my other little boy sinking to the bottom of the lake, I yelled out to him, ‘What are you crying about? You killed my family,’” Prince said.
Bennett’s attorney previously said Bennett also jumped into the water to help. This past June, Bennett’s attorney tried to get all of the charges dismissed, arguing that officers lacked probable cause when making the arrest. That motion was denied.
Bennett’s trial continues Wednesday.
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