A New Jersey mother is facing criminal charges after authorities say she was drunk when she crashed a boat at the Jersey Shore, killing her adult son — a tragedy that came just weeks before another alleged drunken boating crash in the same bay claimed the lives of two young siblings.
Jennifer Pearson, 59, was operating a 23-foot center console boat near the Brant Beach Yacht Club in Long Beach around 5:45 p.m. on Memorial Day when the vessel struck a marker in Barnegat Bay, according to charging documents obtained by NJ101.5. The impact threw her 28-year-old son, Gunnar Pearson, and his girlfriend into the water.
Both Gunnar Pearson and his girlfriend were taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Gunnar later died from his injuries, while four other people who had been aboard the boat were treated for minor injuries, authorities said.
Pearson, who lives in Barnegat, surrendered to New Jersey State Police on Thursday after testing showed her blood alcohol concentration was between .09 and .12, court documents said. The legal limit is .08.
She has been charged with death by vessel, operating a vessel under the influence, reckless operation of a vessel, operating a vessel without a boating safety certificate and failing to maintain a proper lookout.
Pearson is being held at the Ocean County jail while she awaits a detention hearing. Police said the deadly crash remains under investigation.
The Memorial Day crash is one of four boating deaths reported this year on Barnegat Bay, where each fatal incident has involved a vessel striking a channel marker. The markers are used to guide boaters through the bay’s deeper channels, a critical aid in an area known for its shallow waters.
On July 19, 9-year-old Mya Golabek and her 7-year-old brother, Sigmund Paul Golabek, were killed when their grandfather, who authorities say was also allegedly intoxicated, hit a channel marker in Barnegat Bay off Bayville while returning from dinner at night.
Stephen Schneider, 64, who was charged with double homicide last week, had a BAC of .16 — double the legal limit, cops said. The children’s father, Schneider’s son-in-law, pleaded for a judge to release him from jail.
In another crash, Michael T. Bereheiko, 26, of Green Brook, was killed when a 32-foot Boston whaler carrying five people hit a channel marker off Toms River on July 26, according to NJ101.5.
No charges have been filed in that crash.
