Man Charged With Deadly Boat Hit-and-Run Two Years After Crash, Police Say

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A Paramus man was arrested for a fatal hit-and-run boat crash after a nearly two-year-long investigation
Shawn Kelly, 44, was driving his boat in September 2016 when he slammed into another boat carrying two people
Kelly fled the scene of the crash, police said. One of the men on the boat succumbed to his injuries a month after the crash

A Paramus man was arrested for a fatal hit-and-run boat crash after a nearly two-year-long investigation, police said.

Shawn Kelly, 44, was driving his boat in September 2016 when he slammed into an 18-foot Bayliner boat on Greenwood Lake in West Milford Township in Passaic County, New Jersey State Police said.

Kelly then fled the scene of the crash, which seriously injured 72-year-old Edwin Lane, of West Milford, and 76-year-old Robert Roon, of Newfoundland, and left their wives with less severe injuries, police said.

Lane succumbed to his injuries at the beginning of October 2016, about a month after the crash, according to police.

An investigation found that Kelly was alone on his 20-foot Wellcraft boat when he struck the boat carrying the two couples. The hull of Kelly’s boat was damaged and scratched, as was the outdrive and the propeller, police said.

Kelly faces charges including death by vessel, leaving the scene of a boating accident resulting in death, assault by vessel and leaving the scene of a boating accident causing serious bodily injury, according to police.