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A horrific Hudson River speedboat wreck killed a beautiful bride-to-be and left the best man missing and presumed dead just two weeks before their wedding — and a friend is charged as the drunken skipper, officials said.
The would-be groom, one of four survivors from the boozy crash late Friday night, was left to make funeral plans for lost love Lindsey Stewart.
“It can’t end like this,” Stewart’s anguished mother, Carol Stewart-Kosik, told WABC-TV hours before her daughter’s body was found.
The 19-foot Stingray bowrider driven by banker Jojo John, 35, plowed into a stationary barge loaded with heavy construction materials just south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, officials said.
Lindsey Stewart and Brian Bond; a friend of the couple confirmed to the Daily News that these two were on the boat. Bond is being treated for a broken eye socket while Stewart's body was later found.
“We have probable cause to believe he operated the boat while intoxicated,” said Rockland County Undersheriff Robert Van Cura, citing witness statements.
John was held on $250,000 bail after his hospital-bed arraignment on charges of vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault. Additional charges were possible in the tragic wreck.
The body of Stewart, 30, of Piermont, was found Saturday, about 14 hours after the crash catapulted her and wedding party member Mark Lennon into the cold, murky river. She was not wearing a life jacket when discovered.
“I feel so horrible for the family,” Rockland County Sheriff's Department Chief William Barbera told the Daily News. “You’re planning a wedding and now you’re planning a funeral. It’s just so unfair.”
Lennon’s body had not been recovered as of Saturday night, and search teams were expected back on the Hudson Sunday morning to resume efforts to find him.
Officials believe Jojo K. John was intoxicated while operating the boat when it crashed. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault.
Stewart’s fiancé, Brian Bond, 36, was knocked unconscious in the wreck that mangled the boat’s front end and spattered blood across its seats.
After regaining his wits, the injured Bond frantically dialed 911 in a fruitless attempt to save his bride and his best man.
“Lindsey was getting married two weeks from today,” her red-eyed mother said while keeping a grim vigil from the riverbank Saturday, before Lindsey’s body was found. “Now her and the best man both are missing.”
Stewart-Kosik tossed two white roses into the water in memory of the tragic couple shortly before her daughter’s body was recovered floating in the Hudson just a short distance from the crash site.
“They just went out for a nice night on the river,” said Stewart-Kosik, who broke down in tears. “I can’t talk about it. I’m sorry.”
Lindsey Stewart, the bride-to-be. Stewart was also set to become an aunt, with her pregnant sister expecting a daughter in September.
The couple met in their youth and became lifelong friends before falling in love about four years ago, said the dead woman’s stepfather.
A February photo on Stewart’s Facebook page showed her flashing an engagement ring alongside a beaming Bond. The two often attended church in suburban Pearl River.
“They were planning a good future together,” said Stewart’s stepfather, Walter Kosik.
Their immediate plans included an Aug. 10 wedding at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, followed by a Caribbean honeymoon in the Grenadines.
Norman Y. Lono for New York Daily News
Carol Stewart-Kosik, the mom of the bride-to-be who was found dead.
“She did all the plans herself,” said a shaken Kosik. “She had everything under control, a real smart lady.”
But instead of finalizing wedding details, the Stewart family was preparing for an unexpected funeral. Stewart was also set to become an aunt: Her pregnant sister is expecting a daughter in September, Kosik said.
Authorities said no booze was found aboard the Stingray, and said nothing about whether speed played a role. The speedboat can go as fast as 60 mph.
Bond and three others on board survived the crash, which occurred soon after the happy couple and four male friends jumped into the boat around 10:40 p.m. at the Tappan Zee Marina.
The couple, who shared an apartment just up the street from the marina, was headed across the river from Piermont to Tarrytown when the craft slammed into the barge, which is part of a project to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The scene of the tragic speedboat crash Saturday morning.
Stewart and Lennon, 30, were hurled into the Hudson while the other four were tossed around the badly damaged boat, officials said. All suffered head injuries in the crash.
Rescue efforts were hampered when the disoriented survivors couldn’t provide an exact location for the wreck.
“They weren’t sure what they hit, and they weren’t sure exactly where the accident took place,” Van Cura said.
Two of the four people remaining on the boat were wearing life jackets when rescuers arrived.
One of the survivors suffered a broken arm, while Bond was treated for a fractured eye socket and a puncture wound on his arm.
The missing man was identified as her fiancé's best man, confirmed by a friend as Mark Lennon. Authorities said Saturday that the rescue mission has turned into a recovery, as both are now presumed dead.
“He is still in shock,” said his father, Bruce Bond, when asked if his son knew about Stewart’s death. “He is in a lot of pain right now.”
The three other people on the boat were all taken to Nyack Hospital for treatment.
The injured boaters were brought ashore at the Tappan Zee Marina.
“There was blood on arms, everywhere,” Anthony Apolito, a valet at the Pier 701 bar at the marina, told The Journal News. “I don’t even know how to explain it. It was depressing.”
Carol Stewart-Kosik, the mom of Lindsay Stewart, who was found dead Saturday. 'They just went out for a nice night on the river,' she said, breaking down in tears.
Investigators believe the group of pals may have started the night at the marina-based watering hole.
Bond, a former Pearl River resident, is an art teacher in Westchester County, while his fiancée worked at the Prudential Life Insurance Co. in Nyack.
Bruce Bond said he was headed from the hospital to offer his condolences to the Stewart family. He also described best man Lennon as “a wonderful kid.”
The barge was one of three moored together about 200 feet south of the span. Officials said there were lights on the barge, which was located about a half-mile from the shoreline, but they acknowledged visibility could have been an issue.
“It was very dark out there last night and very difficult to see the barges in the water,” said Van Cura.
Four people were also injured late Friday after the boat struck a barge on the west side of the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Officials said they believe John, whose Facebook page says he works for JP Morgan Chase, co-owned the boat.
One picture on his Facebook page shows him clutching a bottle of Stella Artois while hugging two beauties, one of whom is also holding a bottle of brew.
One of John’s neighbors in upstate Nyack said the affable banker told him Friday afternoon that he was “going to hang out on a boat with some buddies” on Saturday.
“He’s a very friendly guy,” said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “I hope he’s all right.”
Officials said detectives are speaking to the survivors, but they wouldn’t reveal what they told investigators.
Robert Sabo/New York Daily News
The Tappan Zee Bridge, between Nyack and Tarrytown, New York.
Barbera said the massive search effort, which resumed around 9:15 a.m., included Piermont police and fire departments with help from the NYPD, New York State Police, Yonkers Police and the Westchester County marine unit.
Kosik said he knew there was a problem when the police contacted him at 2:30 a.m.
“That’s a nightmare I don’t wish on any parent,” he said.
Kosik said the couple would have jumped at the chance for a ride on the river.
“Knowing them, they probably enjoyed going out on the water,” he said
With Beth Stebner, Nicholas Wells and Joe Stepansky
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