(COLDWATER) – A sentence of two years probation and a suspended jail sentence have been given to a Fort Wayne women regarding a fatal boat crash.

Branch County Circuit Court officials say Tasha Adams was given the sentence, after she plead no contest in June to a charge of making false statements to deputies about who was operating a boat on the day it crashed into another watercraft.

The Branch County Sheriff’s Office was contacted at 11:15 PM on August 3, 2024 about a collision between two speed boats on Coldwater Lake near Pearl Beach and South Pearl Road.

The Branch County Marine Patrol arrived and determined the incident involved a boat that ended up on top of a second boat. The driver of the second boat, 46 year old Cory Butler of Grabill, Indiana, was flown from the scene to a Kalamazoo hospital where he later died from his injuries.

During the course of the investigation, both Adams and her 15 year old daughter repeatedly said the daughter had been driving the boat at the time of the crash, and not Adams’ husband Zachary.

As the investigation progressed and other individuals were questioned, it was determined that Adams’ daughter was not driving the boat at the time of the accident, and it was her husband.

Court officials say Zachary Adams is charged with negligent operation of a vessel; fourth degree child abuse; false report of a felony; negligent crippling homicide and reckless skiing.