HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — Editor's note: video is from May, 2020
A Memphis man has been indicted and arrested on multiple charges stemming from a jet ski collision on Pickwick Lake, resulting in two fatalities.
A Hardin County Grand Jury returned criminal indictments Monday on Matthew Swearengen, 33. The indictments are the result of an investigation into the collision that happened on August 15, 2020, at Pickwick Lake, which killed David Carter,40, of Oakland, and his 6-year-old daughter Olivia.
Swearengen was arrested Tuesday, July 20 by TWRA wildlife officers and booked into the Hardin County jail, where he is being held on a $100,000 bond.
RELATED: Deadly Pickwick Lake accident under investigation
His initial court appearance is scheduled for July 26.
Swearengen's charges include:
- 2 Counts of Vehicular Homicide by Intoxication - TCA 39-13-213 (a) (2)
- 2 Counts of Vehicular Homicide -TCA 39-13-213 (a) (1)
- 2 Counts of Aggravated Assault – TCA 39-13-102 (a) (1)
- 1 Count of Boating Under the Influence - TCA 69-9-217 (a)
- 1 Count of Failure to Render Aid - TCA 69-9-210 (a) (2)
This is an ongoing investigation.
A $10 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Swearengen in May.
According to the lawsuit, around 100 boats were in Dry Creek Cove in Pickwick Lake at the time. It claims the driver of the wave runner, Matthew Swearengen, recklessly drove the machine at a high rate of speed in the area filled with boats, jet skis, and people swimming, and he didn't slow down.