Boat collision kills four members of one Georgia family
By Rebekka Schramm
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ALPHARETTA, Georgia (WGCL) — Those who knew the Leffler family are planning a prayer service in Alpharetta Tuesday night to pray for the lives lost in a boat collision near Savannah over the Memorial Day weekend.
The collision happened Saturday morning on the Wilmington River between Savannah and Tybee Island.
Killed in the crash were Christopher Leffler, 51; his wife Lori, 50; and their sons, 17-year-old Nathan and 23-year-old Zachary. The Lefflers’ daughter Katie survived the crash, along with a friend who was with the family on the boat outing.
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the driver of the other boat, Mark Christopher Stegall, 45, of Savannah, was arrested and charged with boating under the influence. One of his passengers, Robert Steven Chauncey, 37, died in the collision. A second passenger in Stegall’s boat survived.
Before taking a job in January at Calvary Day School in Savannah, Chris Leffler taught middle and upper school history and coached wrestling at Kings Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta.
“We’re a small Christian community, and I think it just devastated the entire community,” said Dr. Edward Spurka, Head of School at King’s Ridge. “Chris brought it every day. He loved these kids. He was a father figure for so many of our young boys and girls. Every single day, he lived life to the fullest, and he’s going to be missed.”
King’s Ridge will host a prayer service at 6 p.m. Tuesday to remember the lives lost and to pray for the survivors.
“Stuff like this when it devastates a whole community, we can’t handle this alone, so we’ve got to bring everyone together, especially our students. So that’s the first step in the grieving process for us,” Spurka said, “and then we’ll figure out the memorial as we go along.”
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