Boat Driver Sued In Fatal Lake Eufaula Collision

The mother of two children who were seriously injured in a July 4 fatal hit-and-run boat crash on Lake Eufaula has sued the driver in civil court, court documents show.

According to the lawsuit filed in Pittsburg County on behalf of Tonia Foster, her children had to be flown by medical helicopter, and their grandfather, Gary McIninch, 55, was tossed from their boat.

His body was recovered from the lake two days later.

07/07/2013 Related Story: OHP: Fatal Hit-And-Run Lake Eufaula Boater Identified

Roberts' lawsuit is levied at Shumway and his wife, Janai Shumway, who, along with the couple's children, was on the boat at the time of the crash. It seeks in excess of $75,000 in damages and costs associated with prosecution.

The Shumways showed gross negligence and displayed "wanton and reckless disregard for the rights and the health and welfare of the Foster children," according to the suit.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said 30-year-old Ryan Shumway was identified as the driver of the ski boat that crashed into McIninch. McIninch's pontoon was tied up to another vessel as several people watched a fireworks show near Eufaula Cove.

The lawsuit claims Ryan Shumway's boat was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck the pontoon, and the pontoon was stopped and displaying the required light for darkness.

McIninch "placed his body between Ryan Shumway's careening boat and his granddaughters," and the impact knocked him overboard, according to the suit.

Troopers said Ryan Shumway circled the pontoon and another boat after the collision. According to witness reports, he drove off when he learned there was a man missing in the water.

"Ryan Shumway and Janai Shumway, after striking the Foster children and knocking Gary McIninch into the waters of Lake Eufaula, then fled the scene without rendering any aid to the small children… or the drowning man they had knocked overboard," the lawsuit says.

Foster's daughters, ages 8 and 10, have suffered pecuniary damages, physical pain and suffering, disfigurement and extreme mental anguish, the lawsuit claims.

Ryan Shumway has not been charged in the incident.

07/09/2013 Related Story: Driver Of Ski Boat In Deadly Eufaula Crash Has History Of Arrests

Court records show Ryan Shumway has a series of arrests beginning in 2001 for public intoxication and possessing a beer while being under 21. He pleaded guilty to both of those charges.

In 2004, he was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer, in 2007, he pleaded guilty to transporting an open container, and in 2010, he was sentenced to a year of probation on a DUI charge.

He also has a number of speeding violations on his record, both in Pittsburg and Latimer counties.