A father facing charges he neglected his 2-year-old son when the boy drowned in Carter Lake was arrested again, this time on suspicion of drunken boating.
Gil Dwayne Fitzgerald Smith, 44, of Longmont was drunk and crashed into another boat while driving his 17-foot white and blue Bayliner boat in Carter Lake on Saturday evening, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
Smith was driving the same boat on the same lake where his son slipped off a “Super Screamer” tow-tube that was behind the boat July 15.
Divers searched the lake for weeks, but Shay Smith’s body was never recovered.
Sheriff’s officials say Gil Smith caused minor damage to the boat he crashed into Saturday evening.
When deputies tried to arrest him, they say, he was combative, kicking and banging his head against a car window. An ambulance was called to take him to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins for observation.
Smith was later taken to the Larimer County Detention Center and held on $2,000 bail on suspicion of boating under the influence of alcohol, resisting arrest and careless boating. He was still in custody Sunday evening.
The person who answered the phone at the family’s home declined to comment.
At the time of Saturday’s arrest, Smith was out on $25,000 bail for a felony charge of child abuse resulting in death.
The day his son drowned, Smith had a blood-alcohol content of 0.084, slightly below the legal limit for boating in Colorado.
Shay slipped off the tow-tube that was traveling 20 to 30 mph behind his father’s boat.
Authorities say Shay’s 3-year-old brother was placed in charge of watching him. Shay was wearing a life jacket, but it was too large for the 25-pound boy and probably came off when he hit the water, officials say.
Investigators say Smith lied to them about the circumstances surrounding Shay’s death and claimed the boy fell off the boat instead of slipping off the tow-tube.
They also say Smith appeared callous because divers saw him water-skiing and riding a personal watercraft during the search for his son.
Smith has a criminal history that includes a 1994 conviction for threatening to assault and kill U.S. Postal Service employees.
He was sentenced to a year in prison and three years of supervised parole, according to federal documents.
In 2002, Smith pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Longmont.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
