USC grad was killed in boat crash and man is going to prison, SC officials say

Years after a woman was killed in a boat crash, the man operating the vessel is going to prison, according to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

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On Aug. 14, days before a trial was scheduled to start in Charleston, Nicholas Francesco Zuccala Jr., , the solicitor’s office said in a news release.

Judge Roger Young sentenced the 43-year-old Zuccala to 10 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison — suspended upon the service of 3 years active, according to the release. Zuccala also was ordered to 5 years of probation and 500 hours of community service, the solicitor’s office said.

Zuccala is also prohibited from operating a vessel in South Carolina for 5 years, according to the solicitor’s office.

The punishment is connected to the October 2022 death of 27-year-old Macy Sweatman, according to the release.

At about 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2022, officers with the North Charleston Police Department Marine Unit were on patrol at the Riverfront Revival Concert in the Cooper River when they received a distress call, the solicitor’s office said. A vessel leaving the concert had struck the dredge vessel “Savannah” and multiple individuals were ejected into the water, according to the release. Recovered GPS data showed the vessel that hit the Savannah was moving at about 36-43 mph at the time of the crash, the solicitor’s office said.

Responding officers saw a twin engine 25-foot Sportsman boat — still afloat but unmanned, with music on and the engines running — while making tight uncontrolled circles, the solicitor’s office said. The officers soon located the victim in the water, approximately 75 yards upriver from the scene of the collision, according to the release.

Sweatman was not breathing and appeared to have suffered head trauma, the solicitor’s office said. The 2018 honors graduate of the University of South Carolina died Nov. 7, 2022, according to her obituary. Sweatman died from the injuries she suffered in the collision, the solicitor’s office said.

Sweatman, who was survived by her parents and three siblings among other family members, was remembered as “a strong vibrant young woman full of love, kindness, and generosity who never met a stranger,” her obituary said.

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At the scene of the wreck, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officers spoke with Zuccala, who admitted to driving the boat as well as drinking earlier in the day, according to the release. Zuccala also admitted to using cocaine in the hours before the collision, the solicitor’s office said.

A blood sample was taken shortly after midnight and results of testing by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division showed that Zuccala’s blood alcohol content at that time was .049 — more than 4 hours after the collision, according to the release. The SLED report also confirmed the presence of cocaine in his system, the solicitor’s office said.

Using blood alcohol content extrapolation formulas and analysis, the solicitor’s office said that Zuccala’s level would have been between .10 to .11 at the time of the crash — exceeding South Carolina’s legal limit of .08.

SCDNR also noted that Zuccala was not wearing his “Kill-Switch” at the time of the collision — which is required under South Carolina’s boating safety regulations, according to the release. Kill switches are typically lanyards that boat operators clip onto themselves that’s connected to the vessel’s cut-off switch, so if the operator is thrown overboard, the clip disconnects and the engine is shut off, according to Carolina Sportsman.

“This tragic event should not have happened but because of the defendant’s recklessness, an innocent life was lost. … It was a predictable outcome when mixing alcohol, drugs, speed, and water at night,” Assistant Solicitor Hunt Russell said in the release.

Zuccala was admitted to Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia on Wednesday, according to prison records.

Attorney’s Gregory DeLuca and Joseph Good were listed as Zuccala’s lawyers, Charleston County court records show.