Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo speaks during today’s press conference.
The Dauphin County district attorney today described a tragedy that could have been avoided easily, as he announced charges against a Palmyra man whose alleged actions led to the deaths of his girlfriend and their daughter.
In a press conference, District Attorney Fran Chardo said that 26-year-old Cody Binkley had marijuana in his system and demonstrated terrible judgment on the night of May 7, when he crashed his Jon boat into the Dock Street Dam in Harrisburg, resulting in the deaths of Mary Bredbenner, 25, and their 3-year-old daughter, Madelyn Binkley.
“I think it’s the combination of poor decisions that led to this tragedy,” he said.
Chardo announced a total of 16 criminal counts against Binkley, including four homicide-related counts, one of involuntary manslaughter and one of endangering the welfare of a child. The most serious charges include two counts of homicide by watercraft while operating under the influence.
Binkley was arraigned earlier this morning at the courthouse then released on $50,000 unsecured bond.
A slide with a picture of the victims, shown at today’s press conference
According to Chardo, Binkley put into the Susquehanna River in Middletown at about 8 p.m., then motored upstream in a 16-foot-long, flat-bottomed boat.
At about 9:20 p.m., he encountered the dangerous low-head dam in Harrisburg. He first veered away from it, but then, “inexplicably,” turned directly into it at a high rate of speed, capsizing the boat, Chardo said. Only Binkley survived the accident, swimming to shore near the PennDOT building in Harrisburg.
Upon reaching shore, Binkley called 9-1-1 at 9:59 p.m. At 11:33 p.m., rescue personnel found Bredbenner’s body, though Madelyn Binkley’s body was not recovered for another three days.
Chardo cited additional examples of poor judgment, such as Binkley checking himself out of the hospital that evening and going to his grandmother’s house to sleep.
“He went home and went to sleep,” Chardo said. “That really struck me that he did that. The men and women of emergency services cared more about his woman and child than he did.”
Chardo said that Binkley told investigators that he knew nothing of the dam until crashing into it, despite the numerous warning signs and loud churn of the water. Binkley said the family was heading for a camping site on the river, Chardo said.
“He claimed not to be aware of the danger,” Chardo said.
Despite numerous dam-related accidents and fatalities throughout the years, an investigator with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission said today that he believed that signs near the dam, warning of the danger, were sufficient.
“What’s there is adequate and required of the city on the river,” he said. “[The signs] are reflective and very visible.”
