Alaska News

Anchorage man charged with manslaughter in fatal Mat-Su boating collision

A 26-year-old Anchorage man has been charged with manslaughter in a boating collision Saturday in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough that left a woman dead, according to Alaska State Troopers.

The crash happened on Flat Lake, adjacent to Big Lake. Troopers and state parks rangers responded to the area around 3 p.m. Saturday for a report of a boating accident with serious injuries.

Troopers say Reagan Martz was operating a boat on Flat Lake with seven people total on board. He was "negotiating a curve in his boat around an island." A second boat towing a raft with three passengers was also in the area, according to an online trooper dispatch.

The boats were traveling head-on, toward each other and "turned abruptly to avoid a collision," troopers said.

Martz's boat crashed into the raft. Jennifer Horazdovsky, 35, of Anchorage, was killed and the two other people on the raft were seriously injured, troopers said.

[Earlier coverage: At least one boater dead in accident on Mat-Su lake]

Martz left the scene before troopers arrived. He was found nearby on a jet ski and arrested for driving under the influence, according to troopers. He also faces a manslaughter charge and three counts of first-degree assault, troopers said.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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