A New Jersey woman has been charged in the death of her son after allegedly crashing her boat while intoxicated on Memorial Day weekend. Jennifer Pearson, 59, faces charges including death by vessel, operating a vessel under the influence, and reckless operation.
The incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. on Memorial Day in Barnegat Bay near the Brant Beach Yacht Club. According to charging documents, Pearson crashed her 23-foot center console boat into a marker, ejecting her son, Gunnar Pearson, 28, and his girlfriend into the water. Both were transported to a local hospital in critical condition, where Gunnar Pearson later died from his injuries. Four other individuals on board sustained minor injuries.
Pearson, of Barnegat, turned herself in to state police after tests revealed her blood alcohol level was between .09 and .12, exceeding the legal limit of .08. She was also charged with operating a vessel without a boating safety certificate and failure to have a proper lookout. She is currently being held at the Ocean County jail pending a detention hearing.
The fatal crash is under investigation. This incident marks the fourth boating death on Barnegat Bay this year, with all previous incidents involving boats striking channel markers in the bay's notoriously shallow waters.
In a separate incident on July 19, two siblings, 9-year-old Mya Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek, died after their grandfather, allegedly intoxicated, hit a channel marker in the same bay. The grandfather, Stephen Schneider, 64, was charged with double homicide. His blood alcohol content was reportedly .16, double the legal limit. Another unrelated boating death occurred on July 26 when Michael T. Bereheiko, 26, died after a 32-foot boat carrying five people struck a channel marker off Toms River. No charges have been filed in that crash.