LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WAVE/Gray News) – Sondra and Barry Albert will never forget August 14, 1998. It was the day their son, Chris Albert, did not come home.
“He was a good young man,” Barry said. “He was in his last year of college.”
On that Friday in 1998, Chris Albert was towing a friend’s family boat to Rough River Lake.
The boat’s operator, 19-year-old David “Nick” Stomberger, later crashed the same boat while under the influence of alcohol. Chris Albert died when he was thrown from the boat while trying to prevent the crash.
“This is a sight you will never forget for the rest of your life,” said Barry Albert.
Stomberger survived the accident and pleaded guilty in 1999 to operating a watercraft under the influence of alcohol and negligent homicide.
The Alberts asked the judge not to sentence Stomberger to prison. He received five years probation.
“We’ll never get our son back,” Sondra said. “But we hoped it would change him and teach him something.”
In late July, Grayson County Deputy Coroner James Embry identified Stomberger as one of the people killed in another accident at the same lake.
According to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Service officials, another boat rammed the pontoon that Stomberger was operating.
“The bass boat collided with the pontoon boat, which was stationary with its navigation lights off,” Embry wrote in a press release. “Alcohol is suspected, but this must be confirmed by toxicology reports.”
It is currently unclear whether Stomberger was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Several other people on the pontoon were injured, including Stomberger’s two children.
“Same lake, same boater,” said Sondra. “It brought back memories.”
For nearly 26 years, the Alberts kept Chris alive by passing on stories to their grandchildren who never had the chance to meet their uncle.
“They know him like he’s still here because we talk about him all the time,” Sondra Albert said. “We were up there the other day and my granddaughter was wearing one of his sweatshirts.”
Despite the passage of time, they say, it never gets easier. Friends and family have reached out to the couple, whose marriage has lasted 53 long years and one very long day.
Sondra Albert says a lesson not learned will cause even more people to suffer.
“We have other people, other families, including his family, who have to learn to live differently, just like we had to,” she said. “We didn’t want this to happen to anyone else. It’s just not the right thing to bury your children.”
The Alberts said they hope that by sharing Chris’ story, at least one life can be saved, if not more.
“There’s nothing good to do on a boat after dark,” said Barry Albert. “Especially when alcohol is involved.”
They also said they believe stricter boating laws in Kentucky could make the waters safer.
“You learn how to drive it yourself. You don’t have to take any classes, you don’t have to get a license and there are no speed limits,” said Sondra Albert. “There just aren’t as many water laws as there are on the water compared to roads or highways.”
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officials said the investigation is ongoing, but five other people on the pontoon were injured.
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