Prosecutor: NJ man was drunk during boat crash that killed swimmer

🔶 NJ man faces criminal charge after woman’s death

🔶 Victim was swimming when struck by a boat propeller

🔶 Police say boater was drunk

An Atlantic City man is accused of being drunk when his boat veered and crashed into a swimmer over the summer.

On Thursday, 53-year-old Jeffrey M. Jastrzembski was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of 79-year-old Norma Michaels, of Atlantic City.

The Aug. 12 crash happened after 5 p.m. on the Intercoastal Waterway near the Albany Avenue Bridge, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Jastrzembski’s boat sped up in the direction of the docks, prosecutors said, and made an aggressive turn, causing the boat’s propeller to strike and kill Michaels.

Investigators later found Jastrzembski had a blood alcohol content between 0.19% and 0.23% at the time of the crash — well over twice the legal limit.

Breaking AC previously reported that there were several witnesses to the crash, who told State Police that Jastrzembski had been operating his 20-foot boat erratically.