NJ man charged in fatal Jersey Shore boating accident

A Camden County man was charged this week after police accused him of driving while intoxicated when the boat he was operating in a South Jersey bay struck a channel marker.

Jason Santo, 42, of Atco, was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide for the crash in the Great Bay Inlet in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, in the summer of 2023.

According to police, Santo was piloting the boat when it struck the 141st channel marker in the Intercoastal Waterway off the borough’s coast around 12:03 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2023.

Mark Risden, 44, of Tabernacle, who was one of five people on board at the time, died from his injuries, police said. Three other passengers and Santo were also injured in the strike.

Santo, the boat owner, was drunk at the time of the crash, police said. His attorney, James J. Leonard, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

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Eric Conklin can be reached at [email protected].