A 19-year-old man from Malta was charged Thursday with causing the death of a 20-year-old on Saratoga Lake during a boating excursion on the Fourth of July.

Blake Heflin of Stony Point Road was arraigned Thursday in Malta Town Court, charged with criminally negligent homicide, a felony, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.

Police said the charge stems from an investigation into the death of Ian Gerber, 20, of Ballston Spa, who died at around 7 p.m. July 4 at Saratoga Lake.

Heflin is accused of operating a Bentley 240 pontoon boat with several young adults while consuming alcohol and not taking proper safety precautions, "as to cause the death of Gerber," police said.

An investigation revealed Gerber jumped off the pontoon boat while it was in motion and became struck by the propeller of the boat, which severed his left arm, police said.

As Heflin turned around to pick up Gerber, the victim was struck by a Sun Runner cabin cruiser operated by Kevin Sawyer, 50, of Stillwater, police said.

Heflin was released after the arraignment, according to police.

In a statement, the Sheriff's Office said it will not comment further until Friday.

The investigation was conducted with help from the state Marine Services Bureau, the state Park Police, the state Forensic Identification Unit and biomechanical experts.