Columbus man with two girls on river without lifejackets charged with reckless conduct

A Columbus man accused of placing two girls without lifejackets in a one-person boat to enter the rapids on the Chattahoochee River was charged Thursday with reckless conduct.

Billy Wayne Wright, 54, was charged with two counts each of reckless conduct and not having flotation devices in the required area between North Highlands Dam and the Convention & Trade Center. He is held in the Muscogee County Jail for a Saturday hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

The charges are related to a July 13 outing on the Chattahoochee River. Officer Teddy Jackson said Wright disregarded repeated commands from police, a Whitewater Express staffer and Uptown Columbus Inc. to not enter the rapid flowing river with two girls in a one-man plastic boat.

He started to paddle toward Phenix City before he was detained by Sgt. Casey Conrad and the Phenix City police. A further investigation determined that he had outstanding warrants for escape in Alabama.

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 12:00 AM.