The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that a container crashed into a pier at a high speed over the summer, killing one man, and the owner of a Long Beach boat charged with manslaughtering a vehicle on Wednesday.
Kevin King, 57, was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the boat (a 48-foot long “four Kings”) into the jetty, prosecutors alleged Wednesday. The crash killed John Correa, a former Berkeley, California baseball player who worked in real estate.
The king pleaded not guilty to his arrest. He has faced up to 13 years in prison.
Boat passengers explained the July 3 crash and the events that led to it. This involved people onboard drinking and drinking alcohol between what they thought was supposed to be a casual pleasure boat. The king believed he was drinking, but no one said that he seemed seriously drunk.
“People said they saw Kevin drink. It was mellow. I can tell you that. It’s not like a crazy situation,” said Barry Vince, one of the passengers, during the crash. Vince doesn’t drink.
Vince said he had let King drive a boat while drinking in the past.
But Vince felt different after the charges were announced on Thursday.
“I was naive to the dangers of a drunk boat. That’s stupid to me. I don’t let the drinkers drive me in the car. For any reason I never thought about it on the boat. I was confident in Kevin,” he said.
Prosecutors compared the situation with other vehicles.
“Anyone who chooses to operate a drunk vehicle, such as a car, motorcycle, or boat, risks his life and takes responsibility,” said Dist. Atty Nathan Hochman.
King is an experienced boater and knows his boats like “his back of his hand,” Vince said.
“He’s been out in the sea thousands of times,” Vince said. “I had total confidence in him.”
On July 3rd, there were dozens of people on the boat and they returned to the dock in Aramitos Bay when the crash fell, passengers told the Times. Some said they believe the boat is at 30 or 40 mph when it impacted.
Six passengers were on the upper floor where the boat was controlled, and six more were in the room below.
“It was just a scary, huge impact. The sound was something I’d never heard before,” said a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive event.
All six on the top deck were unconsciously knocked by the shock, and Correa was killed. King was one of the top deck people, a passenger told The Times.
“John didn’t wake up,” Vince said. “I saw John. I checked his pulse. He’s gone.”
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