Lawsuit in Va. Boating Deaths Settled for $2.75M

A man who pleaded guilty to causing the boat accident that killed a couple on Smith Mountain Lake has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against him by their estates.

Mark de Tournillon Sr. agreed Friday to a $2.75 million settlement with the estates of Lawrence and Judith Lewis of Moneta. Most of that amount will be paid by insurance companies, but de Tournillon intends to pay $250,000 out of the proceeds from the sale of his business, Shoreline Marina. The business has not yet been sold, said William Stanley, one of de Tournillon’s defense lawyers.

The settlement will be split equally between the two estates, which had sought $12 million in their lawsuit against de Tournillon and Shoreline Marina.

Documents filed last Friday in Roanoke County Circuit Court specify that the $250,000 must be paid to the Lewises’ estates by March 30.

In June, de Tournillon pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter by intoxication in the Aug. 20, 2005, crash that killed the Lewises and their dog. As part of his plea, de Tournillon admitted he was drunk when he drove his speedboat at 65 miles an hour into the back of the Lewises’ cabin cruiser that night.

His sentencing in Bedford County Circuit Court is scheduled for Sept. 26. He faces the possibility of up to 21 years in prison, though prosecutors have said that they’ll ask for no more than 15