Bryce Tyrone Verhonich was driving a jet ski on Lake Mead in June 2022 when he and passenger Lily Hatcher fell into choppy water during an early morning ride to view the sunrise at Hoover Dam. A fisherman found Verhonich in the water without a life jacket, but Hatcher drowned. Her body was discovered nearly 300 feet below the surface six days later, with an autopsy revealing cocaine and methamphetamine as contributing factors to her drowning death.
Circuit Judge Ronald Gould rejected Verhonich's argument that safety equipment failures were irrelevant to negligent operation charges under National Park Service regulations. "We are not persuaded that the act of maintaining the functioning of, or engaging, using, and controlling, a jet ski, plainly excludes external factors that impact the nature of the maintenance or use, such as safety gear," Gould wrote for the three-judge panel. The court found sufficient evidence supported the conviction, noting Verhonich admitted he "kind of turned sharp on accident" causing both riders to fall off.
Following a bench trial, a magistrate judge convicted Verhonich of three misdemeanor counts: negligent operation, failure to wear a personal flotation device, and failure to attach an engine cut-off switch lanyard. The judge sentenced him to six months custody for the first two counts and two years probation for the third. A Nevada federal district judge upheld the conviction on appeal before Verhonich challenged it to the Ninth Circuit.
The appellate ruling marks the first time a federal court has interpreted whether safety equipment violations can constitute negligent vessel operation under park service regulations. The decision could influence how prosecutors pursue boating accident cases in national recreation areas, particularly where operator carelessness combines with safety violations to cause fatalities.