Mother charged in Barnegat Bay boat crash that killed her son
Jennifer Pearson went before judge for allegedly driving a boat while intoxicated before crashing into a channel marker along Barnegat Bay.
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Jennifer Pearson, the mother of a man killed in a boat crash along Barnegat Bay on Memorial Day was before a judge in Ocean County Friday.
Pearson is being charged with operating that boat while allegedly drunk when her son Gunnar Pearson was thrown from the boat and died. The New Jersey State Police led the crash investigation and charged the Barnegat woman with operating a vessel under the influence, death by vessel, reckless operation, operating without a Boating Safety Certificate and failure to have a proper lookout.
The investigation revealed that Pearson was driving the boat at 5:45 p.m. on Memorial Day when it collided with a channel marker in Barnegat Bay. 28 year old Gunnar Pearson was ejected and did not survive his injuries.
It's one of four deaths this summer involving boats hitting markers on Barnegat Bay.
News 12 spoke with a towboat operator about boating safety in the bay and whether it’s difficult to spot markers in the water at night.
Charlie Nunn works with Towboat US out of Ocean Gate.
“I think the question is, is it easy to become disoriented on the bay at night. I think anyone who becomes disoriented and doesn’t know that a marker is coming up, yeah I think it could be easy to strike a marker than not sometimes," said Nunn.
In another case from July 19, Bayville resident Stephen Schneider was arrested and charged with the death of his two grandchildren while allegedly driving his boat drunk. The Ocean County prosecutor charged him for those deaths.
The prosecution revealed Schneider had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, twice the legal limit when he hit a channel marker at around 9 p.m.
And in another crash from late July, 26-year old Michael Bereheiko, of Green Brook, New Jersey was killed in a crash while out with friends at 11 p.m.. In that case, the boat driver also hit a channel marker.
So far, no charges have been filed as the police investigation continues.
