The man driving a houseboat that killed a four-year old girl and seriously injured her father is facing homicide charges.

The Killeen Daily Herald reports that Jason Stuart Bernal, 44, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in 4-year-old Kaitlyn Oliver’s tragic death on Friday evening.

As Crime Online previously reported, Kaitlyn was playing in the water Lake Belton in Temple, Texas, when the boat Bernal was driving reversed into her and caught the little girl in the boat’s propellors.

Her father, Patrick, rush to try and save her but the propellors amputated his legs. Patrick Oliver, 37, remains in serious condition at a local hospital.

Kaitlyn was also taken to the hospital and pronounced dead Friday evening.

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign is raising money for the family’s medical costs. The campaign page says that Patrick Oliver does not currently have medical insurance as he recently changed jobs and does not yet have benefits.

A Belton, Texas, funeral home has offered to cover the cost of Kaitlyn’s funeral.

A Temple police spokesperson told the Killeen Daily Herald that additional charges are possible.
Feature photo: GoFundMe