Drunk NJ Woman Killed Son In Boat Crash, Authorities Say

BARNEGAT, NJ — A Barnegat woman has been charged with in a Memorial Day boat crash on Barnegat Bay that killed her son, New Jersey State police confirmed Friday.

Jennifer L. Pearson, 59, has been charged with death by vessel, a second-degree charge, operating a vessel under the influence, reckless operation of a vessel, operating a vessel without a Boating Safety Certificate, and failure to have proper lookout, said Trooper Christopher Postorino.

She surrendered to state police at the Troop C Tuckerton Station and was being held in the Ocean County Jail on Friday pending a detention hearing.

Gunnar H. Pearson, 28, of Barnegat, died after he was thrown from the boat along with a second person on Memorial Day, state police said previously.

His obituary on the Barnegat Funeral Home website identified Jennifer as his mother.

Jennifer Pearson was driving a Trophy 2203CC center console when she hit a day marker in Barnegat Bay about 5:45 p.m. on May 25, NJ 101.5 reported. Gunnar Pearson and his girlfriend were thrown overboard and critically injured. Four others on board suffered minor injuries.

Pearson had a blood alcohol concentration of between 0.09 percent and 0.12 percent, the NJ 101.5 report said.

Gunnar Pearson had just renovated his first home and had started a new job with an elevator company, according to his obituary.

The crash was the first of three in Barnegat Bay this summer that have been fatal.

On July 19, Mya and Sigmund Golabek were killed when they were thrown from a boat driven by their grandfather, Stephen C. Schneider, of Bayville. Schneider, 64, has been charged in their deaths and authorities say he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

On July 25, a Green Brook man was killed when the boat he was a passenger on slammed into a marker in Barnegat Bay in Toms River. No charges have been filed in that crash.