BOSTON (AP) — A businessman who was operating a luxury powerboat that crashed in Boston Harbor last summer, leaving one passenger dead and five others injured, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and multiple assault and battery charges.
A judge set bail for Ryan Denver, 38, of Boston, at $25,000 at Friday’s arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court.
Prosecutors say that Denver had been drinking about an hour and a half before the crash and that the 38-foot boat was going nearly 50 mph when it crashed into a day marker navigational device just before 3 a.m. on July 17. Prosecutors say a witness said Denver smelled of alcohol.
Eight people on board ended up in the water. Five required hospitalization and Jeanica Julce, 27, died, prosecutors said. Denver, who owns a construction business, declined medical attention at the scene.
Denver’s attorney, Michael Connolly, disputed the prosecution’s account of events, saying his client was sober, was going only about 20 mph, and the navigational marker was poorly illuminated. He described Denver and Julce as friends.
He said the crash was an accident and not a crime.
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