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Driver in fatal runaway boat collision sentenced to 3-10 years

Record Courier Report
Traffic camera footage of a 37,000 pound yacht plowing through the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and Carson Street on Nov. 9.
Provided/NHP

The driver in a Nov. 9. 2021, fatal runaway boat crash in south Carson City was sentenced Thursday to 3-10 years on two counts of reckless driving with death, according to media reports.

Roney Rolando Gonzalez-Otazo, 26, was eastbound on U.S. Highway 50 when the brakes on a 2017 Ford-350 appeared to give out while towing a large boat.

Dayton residents Don and Tana Powell were killed when the Ford hit their Chevy Silverado in a fiery crash and the boat came unhitched and continued onto Interstate 580.



The collision involved eight vehicles, including the 44-foot yacht, which overloaded the pickup by 8 tons. Investigators estimated the boat’s weight alone at 37,000 pounds.

Two other cars were struck by the yacht and resulted in injuries.



Gonzalez-Otazo has been in custody ever since.


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