CHELMSFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lowell man pleaded guilty Monday to charges stemming from a jet ski crash that claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl in Chelmsford in 2017, officials said.
Lowell Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman sentenced Douglas Dematos, 34, to six years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of operating a jet ski while under the influence of alcohol, causing death, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
Chelmsford police officers responding to a reported disturbance on the Merrimack River on Aug. 13, 2017, around 10:30 p.m. learned that Dematos had struck the rear of a jet ski, causing 16-year-old Isabelle DaSilva, of Lowell, to be thrown from the watercraft, which she had been riding on with another male, the DA’s office said.
DaSilva’s body was recovered from the river the next morning.
Officers at the scene allegedly observed Dematos showing signs of intoxication and later tested his blood, which reportedly determined that he was well above the legal limit.
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