Hector Brun, Kacie Banks Dead in Boat Accident on Canyon Lake, TX
Canyon Lake, TX — June 10, 2022, 54-year-old Hector Brun and 21-year-old Kacie Banks died after being struck by a boat on Canyon Lake.
According to reports the incident happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. in a cove on the lake, north of the marina. Preliminary investigation suggest Brun and Banks entered the water by the boat while other passengers remained aboard. Somehow the boat's accelerator was pressed and the pair were struck by its propeller.
Brun and Banks both suffered fatal injuries in the accident. No other injuries were reported.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Hector Brun, Kacie Banks Accident on Canyon Lake
Reports about terrible accidents like this one are often difficult to take in. It's clearly devastating that a weekend boat outing took such a turn; my heart goes out to the victims' families as well as the people aboard that boat who had an experience they may never forget.
When reading about an incident like this one it's natural to have some questions about things initial reports couldn't or didn't cover. Chief among those might be the question of precisely how this happened. I'd imagine investigators are hard at work trying to make sense of that; did someone unthinkingly step on the accelerator in the boat? Did something get dropped and land on it? Did the boat's motor malfunction? Was everyone aboard sober?
I don't like mentioning that last possibility, but weekend boating and weekend drinking often go hand in hand. It at least merits investigation because its implications might drastically change both how the accident is understood and who should be held responsible.
Like other motor vehicle accidents, a boating accident caused by drinking may be partly the fault of the alcohol's provider. That's a matter of Texas dram shop law, a lesser-known area of the law that holds alcohol vendors accountable for over-serving their customers. Whether any such violation occurred here is anyone's guess right now, which is why someone should find out.
It's my experience that accident victims and their families contact the firm first and foremost for answers. Depending on what those answers are, sometimes they also ask us to help hold the responsible parties accountable. To stand the best chance of doing that, a careful investigation must be conducted and all details accounted for. It's hard to say whether law enforcement will pay that kind of attention to this matter. If not then an independent investigation may stand a better chance of finding the truth.
