Over 130 cans and bottles of alcohol were found onboard a motorboat that a boozed-up driver crashed in a New Jersey bay last month, killing one passenger and injuring three others, new documents revealed.
Kevin Wells, 40, was arrested and charged with reckless vessel homicide and two counts of assault by vessel while intoxicated or refusing a blood alcohol test on Friday after he crashed his 32-foot Boston Whaler into a channel marker on Barnegat Bay on July 25.
Wells had drunk alcohol “throughout the day” and had watery, bloodshot eyes when approached by police following the crash — which killed his 26-year-old passenger Michael T. Bereheiko, according to court documents obtained by NJ.com.
State police investigators later discovered a whopping 131 containers of alcohol onboard the boat — some opened and some unopened in a cooler and other areas — after searching the vessel on a court order on Aug. 4, an investigating detective wrote in an affidavit.
Cops found countless unopened cans of Sun Cruiser and Super Lyte mixed vodka drinks, an unopened 30-pack of Michelob Ultra beer, as well as two bottles of Tito’s vodka found on the boat.
Wells, who admitted to drinking booze during the boating trip, had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.12%, according to local publication, the Asbury Park Press.
The Garden State’s legal limit for operating motor vehicles is 0.08%.
Prior to the fatal crash, the group arrived at B2 Bistro + Bar, a waterfront establishment in Bayville, Berkeley Township, around 8:20 p.m., where they dined for around two hours.
Wells consumed four alcoholic beverages while at the bistro, the affidavit alleges, citing security camera footage from the business.
The group departed the restaurant at 10:15 p.m. and headed towards Silver Lagoon Drive in Toms River.
The boat, with Wells behind the wheel, then struck a channel marker near the Tunney-Mathis Route 37 bridges around 10:40 p.m.
Wells rushed the boat to a nearby residence in Toms River and the victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment.
Bereheiko, a construction worker, died shortly after.
Two 27-year-old men were seriously injured and a 24-year-old woman was scraped up.
Meanwhile, Wells was detained by a state trooper after he failed a series of field sobriety tests.
Police received Wells’ blood test results on Aug. 25 and charged him three days later.
Wells appeared in Superior Court of Ocean County Tuesday morning, where a judge ordered his release from custody.
“After evaluating Mr. Wells and considering his military service, his family support, and his ties to the community, the Court determined that he is eligible for release and will appear in court as required to address these charges,” his lawyer, Tara Breslow-Testa, told NJ.com.
The conditions of Wells’ release outlined that he must not operate a vessel, drink alcohol or contact the victims, the publication reported, citing the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
The crash on July 25 was the third fatal boat crash along the Jersey Shore this summer involving a collision with a channel marker allegedly caused by intoxicated boaters.
Jennifer Pearson, 59, was charged with the death of her son Gunnar Pearson, 28, after an allegedly intoxicated boating crash on Memorial Day.
Stephen Schneider, 64, was also charged after his two grandchildren died in a boating crash on Barnegat Bay while he was allegedly driving drunk on July 19, police said.
