Decatur County Man Gets 8 Years for Deadly DUI Boating Crash on Tennessee River

Christopher Overman, a 49-year-old Decatur County man, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication at the Decatur County Courthouse on March 3 and was sentenced to eight years with the Tennessee Department of Correction for a drunken boating crash that killed 19-year-old Austin Perry of Decaturville.

The deadly incident unfolded during the late-night hours of April 19, 2025, and the early morning hours of April 20, spilling across Easter weekend on the Tennessee River near Eagles Nest Lane in the Bath Springs area. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's preliminary investigation found Perry was aboard a vessel with three other people when he was injured after leaving the boat. Overman's impairment while operating that vessel, according to officials, led directly to Perry's death.

Overman was not arrested immediately. A Decatur County grand jury indicted him, and TWRA officers took him into custody on September 16, 2025, on six charges: vehicular homicide by recklessness, vehicular homicide by driver intoxication, boating under the influence as a second offense, implied consent with a boating enhancement, reckless boating with injury, and purchasing alcoholic beverages for a child. Less than six months after that arrest, he resolved the case with a single guilty plea to vehicular homicide by intoxication, the charge carrying the eight-year prison term.

No additional details about the specific circumstances of Perry's death have been released.

TWRA issued a statement on March 11 connecting the case to the broader threat on Tennessee waterways. "The TWRA reminds the public about the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is the leading cause of recreational boating deaths," the agency said. "TWRA officers are always on patrol, watching for impaired operators."

The indictment's boating under the influence charge listed the offense as a second offense, indicating Overman had prior contact with law enforcement over impaired boating before the night Perry died on the Tennessee River.