A Caledonia man who had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system and fell asleep at the wheel of his boat on Lake St. Clair has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Stephen Elzinga,35, pleaded guilty to exceeding the blood alcohol limit causing bodily harm.
Court was told Elzinga and his girlfriend were boating in November 2017 when he crashed into the breakwall at the Belle River Marina.
His girlfriend was tossed into the wall and water and needed reconstructive surgery to repair serious injuries to her face.
Defence lawyer Evan Weber says his client is sorry for what he did.
"He is very very remorseful, this has been a very trying experience for him. He knows that his actions caused significant irreparable damage to her and that more than anything is something that he feels terrible about," he says. "By all accounts, it appears that he was heading into shore, he was obviously operating the boat and without slowing down, hit the breakwall at full speed."
Weber says the laws concerning driving also apply to boats, although it's less often used.
After his sentence, Elzinga can't drive for 12 months.