Charges Reduced Against Lawyer Whose Boat Severed Woman's Arm

BOSTON (CBS) – Charges have been reduced against a defense attorney who was previously charged with being drunk behind the wheel of a boat during an accident that severed a woman's arm.

Benjamin Urbelis was charged with causing serious bodily injury while operating under the influence on May 30 when the propeller of his pleasure boat "Naut Guilty" struck a woman who was in the water.

During a Friday hearing, a judge agreed to reduce the charge to operating under the influence. Urbelis is also charged with negligent operation of a boat and operating a motorboat without a registration number.

The decision comes after investigators determined that another man, Alexander Williams, was allegedly behind the wheel of the boat when the accident happened.

Prosecutors now say that Urbelis was in the water at the time the woman was injured.

During an investigation into the incident, Boston Police obtained a search warrant for Williams' phone.

Before handing the phone over to police Wednesday morning, Williams allegedly used a factory reset feature to delete all of its content.

The case is scheduled to return to court on July 31, prosecutors said.