Arizona man found guilty in Lake Mead death
An Arizona resident was found guilty on Thursday in connection with a fatal personal watercraft crash that left a 22-year-old woman dead nearly two years ago at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Bryce Tyrone Verhonich, 47, was found guilty of operating a vessel in a negligent manner, failing to wear a personal flotation device and failing to attach an engine cut-off switch lanyard, according to a U.S. attorney’s office news release.
Lily Kristine Hatcher, of Boulder City, died in the incident, the Clark County coroner’s office said.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 5.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 30, 2022, Verhonich and a passenger traveled from his houseboat on a personal watercraft toward Hoover Dam. As conditions worsened, Verhonich made a sharp turning maneuver that resulted in Verhonich and his passenger falling off the watercraft.
Neither Verhonich nor the passenger were wearing life jackets at the time. The passenger’s body was recovered on July 6, 2022.
Hatcher’s cause of death was listed as drowning, and the manner of death was listed as an accident, according to the coroner’s office. Other contributing factors included recent methamphetamine and cocaine use, the coroner’s office said.
Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on X.
Staff writer Brett Clarkson contributed to this report.