A man has accepted a plea bargain in connection with a boating crash on the Connecticut River in 2022 that left one person dead and multiple others injured.
Kerry Sheltra, 57, took a plea deal on Tuesday in Middletown Superior Court, pleading no contest to one count of second-degree manslaughter, according to court records. He remains free on $50,000 bond and is expected to face sentencing on Jan. 21.
Sheltras’ attorney, Brian Dumeer, said the deal his client accepted includes a prison term of three years, suspended after service of 90 days, and three years’ probation.
“It’s a sad ending to a very tragic case, and I’m going to reserve the rest of my comments for sentencing,” Dumeer said.
A no contest plea means Sheltra declined to contest the manslaughter charge filed against him. Though a judge will make a finding of guilt in the criminal case, the plea cannot be used as an admission of guilt in civil proceedings.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case, the crash occurred on the Connecticut River in Portland on July 10, 2022, around 5 p.m. and led to the death of 60-year-old Wayne Hamler of Waterford. Hamler was among eight people who were on the boat being operated by Sheltra when the vessel crashed.
Sheltra told authorities the boat launched out of Rocky Hill earlier in the day before he and his passengers went to Haddam Meadows State Park, where they spent about three hours swimming and eating before heading back, according to the warrant affidavit. He allegedly told investigators he had two spiked cider drinks and a drink mixed with vodka while they were there, the warrant affidavit said.
While heading back, Sheltra told authorities he was towing an inflatable tube that passengers took turns riding, according to the warrant affidavit. When they were done with the tube, they decided not to deflate it and instead keep it in the rear of the boat while multiple people, including Sheltra as he operated the vessel, held the rope that was attached to it, the warrant affidavit said.
At some point during the trip, Sheltra and a passenger started to lose their grasp on the rope and Sheltra told the other individual to let go of it as he released his grip as well, the warrant affidavit said. Most of the rope then wrapped around Sheltra’s leg and pulled him out of his seat, leaving the boat still moving with no one operating it, the warrant affidavit said.
Seconds later, the boat crashed into a rocky shoreline, traveling about 75 feet and striking multiple trees, before it reentered the river, according to the warrant.
Everyone on board was ejected from the vessel with the exception of Sheltra and a child, the warrant affidavit said. Five adults and two children were taken to a hospital.
According to Environmental Conservation Police, two people on board sustained serious life-altering injuries and three others were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Among those who were seriously injured was Sheltra’s wife, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and could not remember the crash or various events in the two years before the crash, the warrant affidavit said.
A 6-year-old boy who was on board needed to have his left leg amputated below the knee as a result of the traumatic injury his leg suffered, according to the warrant affidavit.
EnCon Police arrested Sheltra in December 2023 on one count of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and three counts of second-degree assault. The remaining charges are expected to be dropped at sentencing.
According to court records, multiple lawsuits have been filed by passengers on board against Sheltra. A wrongful death lawsuit has also been filed by the co-administrators of Hamler’s estate against Sheltra, records show.
