A deadly summer on Barnegat Bay gets another tragic chapter

🚨A Warren Twp man faces charges after a fatal Barnegat Bay boat crash

🚨Police say alcohol was involved in the July 25 crash that killed one passenger

🚨It is the third fatal boating crash in Barnegat Bay this summer

The driver of a third boat in Barnegat Bay involved in a fatal crash was under the influence of alcohol at the time, according to police.

In a crash on July 25, a 32-foot Boston Whaler Model 320 Outrage carrying five people driven by Kevin Wells, 39, of Warren Township, struck Intracoastal Water Marker #22 in Barnegat Bay around 11 p.m., according to court documents. Michael T. Bereheiko, 26, of Green Brook, was pronounced dead at a hospital, State Police said.

Wells was charged Friday with vehicular homicide and two counts of assault by auto/vessel. He is being held without bail at the Ocean County Jail.

Passengers Steven Pochick, 27, of Green Brook, and Nicholas Cherasaro, 27, of North Plainfield, were sent to hospitals for treatment of serious injuries. One of the passengers suffered three broken ribs and three broken vertebrae, according to court documents.

Sarah Stulh, 24, from the Bayville section of Berkeley, had what troopers described as minor injuries.

Authorities released few details about the incident at the time but said first responders encountered the victims at a residence on Silver Lagoon Drive in Toms River, where Wells piloted the vessel after the crash.

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Kevin Wells

Deadly summer on Barnegat Bay

It has been a deadly summer on Barnegat Bay with four deaths in three separate crashes.

Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and Sigmund "Siggy" Paul Golabek, 7, died on July 19 when a motorboat driven by their grandfather crashed into a waterway marker in Barnegat Bay.

Stephen Schneider, 63, of the Bayville section of Berkeley, was charged with reckless vessel homicide after prosecutors say his boat struck a waterway channel marker. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was 0.16 after the crash. Schneider was released during his detention hearing.

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Gunnar Pearson was a member of the NJ National Guard

A third deadly crash killed a Barnegat man

Gunnar Pearson, 28, of Barnegat, died on May 25 after the Trophy 2203CC center console he was riding in slammed into a day marker around 5:45 p.m. Pearson and his girlfriend were thrown into the water during the crash and rushed to a hospital, according to State Police. Four others on board were injured.

Pearson's mother, Jennifer Pearson, 59, was driving the boat when it crashed into Intracoastal Watermarker #79 near the Brant Beach Yacht Club, according to court documents. She was charged with death by vessel for operating a vessel recklessly while under the influence of alcohol. A judge released her during her detention hearing.

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