Boat driver responsible for deadly crash now charged with murder

The body of a man who went missing after a boating accident was recovered. 

Deputies say they got him just before dawn, a few hundred yards from where it happened.

"The body did fit the description of the person who was reported to have been in the boat at the time of the collision and who has been missing ever since," said Capt. Eric Minter with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

It was Sunday evening. Galan Ruiz, 41, was behind the wheel of a speedboat as it raced down the river. He lost control and it slammed into a bulkhead. The impact tossed his fiancé onto dry land, it shattered one of his legs, and it tossed his friend into the water. Witnesses say they saw him briefly bobbing before the wake of a passing barge may have sucked him under. Investigators say Ruiz had been drinking, which is not technically illegal.

"Boaters are allowed to have open containers. They are allowed to consume alcohol on the boat in a public waterway. However, once they reach the point of impairment it's similar to DWI," said Minter.

And they believe he was well over that, and because this would he Galan's third DWI, there's a new charge to go along with the intoxication assault. It's felony  murder.

"This is a tragic situation that has impacted not only the individuals involved but family members and friends as well," said Sheriff Ed Gonzales.