4 years after fatal boat crash at Lake Tobesofkee, suspect faces a trial
A jury will decide on whether a Macon man was responsible for a boat crash in Lake Tobesofkee that killed an employee of a local restaurant in 2021, with the trial starting this week.
By Tuesday afternoon, a jury was picked for Eric Delma Head’s trial, and opening arguments started Wednesday to determine if he should be convicted for the death of 22-year-old William Childs on July 24, 2021. Head, who was on board a two-passenger cigarette boat, allegedly crashed into a pontoon boat with seven passengers, all employees of Fish N Pig. Six of the passengers were injured.
Head faces two counts of homicide by vessel in the first degree, two counts of serious injury by vessel, one count of reckless operation of a vessel and one count of operation of a watercraft under the influence of alcohol and drugs, court records show.
Robert Cabe and John Fox are representing Head, while Assistant District Attorney Kyle Owenby and Assistant District Attorney Brianna Foster are prosecuting the case.
Stephen Bruce Harper and Nathan Calk Hodgson were indicted in relation to the incident for allegedly hindering Head’s apprehension and making false statements, court records show. Their cases remain pending and will not be tried alongside Head.
If Head is convicted of first-degree homicide by vessel, he faces a prison sentence between three and 15 years. If he’s convicted of serious injury by vessel, it carries a prison sentence of one to five years. If he’s convicted of operating a watercraft under the influence, he could be sentenced to up to a year in jail, community service time, and be ordered to complete a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program. He also could be ordered to do a clinical evaluation and serve probation.
Head’s trial is expected to last over a week.
‘Drove too fast, he drank too much and changed too many lives’
Childs and his coworkers at Fish N Pig had finished a shift on the night of July 23, 2021, when they decided to hang out on one of the coworkers’ pontoon boats, according to opening statements from Owenby. Head was driving his boat through Lake Toboesofkee at that time, after he had bought a couple of beers and Red Bull from a convenience store nearby.
While Childs and his coworkers were drinking alcohol on the boat, which Owenby said during opening arguments Tuesday was stationary with the engine off, they noticed another boat approaching them fast. Childs, who drove the pontoon boat, was alerted of the incoming boat.
He attempted to go to the console, but Head’s boat hit the center of the driver’s console, which led to Childs’ death and left the other passengers injured, according to Owenby, who referenced surveillance footage taken from homes near the site of the incident.
Owenby said in court Tuesday that Head and others tried to call friends to help bring another boat. When Head’s call went to voicemail, he admitted over voicemail that he was drunk, Owenby said.
“Will was killed because Eric Head drove too fast, he drank too much and changed too many lives,” Owenby said.
Defense attorneys point to alcohol on pontoon boat
In his opening arguments Wednesday, Cabe told the jury that an initial investigation conducted by the Department of Natural Resources into the incident did not mention key details, including how Childs drank alcohol and smoked marijuana, according to his opening statement.
“No one told the DNR that the operator of the other boat was also (under the) influence of alcohol,” Cabe said. “No one told the DNR that the other operator was also (under the) influence of marijuana.”
There is no speed limit at the lake, Cabe said, nor are there restrictions about what types of boats can be at the lake. Cabe also said there were initial accusations that Head fled the scene, which was not true, and evidence set to be shown during the trial will show that Head helped tow the victim’s boat back to shore and assist first responders.
When talking about surveillance videos referenced by Owenby, Cabe said those videos were partially blocked by porch columns and nearby trees.
Owenby wants jurors to determine at the end of the trial that Head was guilty for his alleged reckless driving that night that led to the death of Childs. Cabe encouraged the jurors to consider all evidence and find the truth behind what occurred in the crash.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 1:02 PM.
