South Jersey man sentenced for deadly drunk boating crash

🚤 Camden County man sentenced to five years for deadly South Jersey boating crash.

💔 Victim, 44, killed after boat slammed into channel marker in Great Bay.

🍺 Prosecutors say speed and alcohol were key factors in the fatal accident.

It’s five years in prison for a South Jersey man for causing the death of one of his passengers while he was drunk-driving a boat.

Jason Santo, 44, from the Atco section of Waterford, was found guilty of reckless death by auto and assault offenses. He was sentenced Oct. 6 by Superior Court Judge Donna M. Taylor, sitting in Mays Landing.

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Great Bay tragedy: Night of drinking ends in fatal crash

On the evening of Aug. 11, 2023, Santo was operating his boat in Great Bay in the area of the Intercoastal Waterway, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Santo admitted to being intoxicated and speeding in the dark when he struck a channel marker, causing the death of a passenger, Mark Risden, also 44, from Tabernacle. Two other boat passengers were also injured.

Santo’s level of intoxication and speed were significant contributing factors in Risden’s death, investigators said.

Guilty plea and punishment for reckless death by vessel

On Aug. 5, 2025, Santo pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless death by vessel and two counts of fourth-degree assault by vessel.

After he is released from jail, Santo will be under three years of supervised release and he will have have his driver’s license suspended for five years.

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