Madison father sentenced to house arrest after son dies in boating accident

The man who was driving a boat during an accident that killed his son was sentenced Wednesday to six months of house arrest and five years of probation.

Posted: Dec 11, 2019 12:47 PM

Posted By: WKTV

UTICA, N.Y. – The man who was driving a boat during an accident that killed his son was sentenced Wednesday to six months of house arrest and five years of probation.

Francis Eckrich, 46, of Madison, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in September after the accident at Otter Lake in July of 2018.

According to police, Eckrich was driving a boat pulling his 12-year-old son, Kaden, and another boy on tubes when he had to swerve to miss a pontoon boat. While trying to avoid the collision, Kaden’s tube crashed into the pontoon boat. The boy later died from his injuries.

During the sentencing, Eckrich told the judge, “I love my son, and I miss him every day.”