Survivors of tragic Lake Murray boat crash push for safety on waterways

LAKE MURRAY, S.C. (WIS) - It’s been nearly three months since a tragic boat crash took the life of a Midlands father.

The crash happened Saturday, September 21 near the Lighthouse Marina off Johnson Marina Road.

Tracy Gordon, 53, was charged with three counts of felony BUI after the boat he was driving hit a pontoon boat. Stanley Kiser died at the scene. His wife, Shawn Kiser, lost her leg and his daughter, Morgan Kiser suffered injuries as well.

Now, nearly three months later, the survivors of this tragic crash are pushing for safety on waterways.

“Nothing’s the same. You wake up and you’re empty. Just feels empty, like, what do you have any more? Everything is gone,” Morgan said. “I don’t ever foresee myself going back out on the boat again.”

What was supposed to be a fun family night on the water turned into a nightmare for the Kiser family?

“We just took a boat ride to look at the stars,” Shawn said.

Morgan was on the boat with her parents when officials said a drunk driver hit their boat in late September. While emotions still run high months later, they’ve tried to channel their pain into helping others.

“We want to bring awareness to bring safety to the lake because I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this,” Morgan said.

The Safe the Lake Facebook group has more than 2,700 members joining in on the effort to spark conversation about boating and lake safety.

“Safe the Lake isn’t about us because we can’t change what happened,” Morgan said. “If this had to happen, if Stan had to lose his life, then it has to be for something. We want to save lives. We want to make the lake safer for everybody. We can’t change what happened to us, but we can change other people’s futures.”

You can learn more about Safe the Lake by clicking here.

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