Three men decided to go out fishing with a cooler full of beer.  Two of the men were friends and the third man was a friend of the surviving friend's son.  He was asked to operate the boat because he did not drink.  The victim and his friend fished and drank beer for a while with no luck when they hooked a bluefish.  The operator backed down and took water in over the transom.  The boat stalled out and could not be restarted.  At that point the victim panicked and said he was going to swim to the island (approximately 500 yards away). He jumped overboard without a lifejacket.   His friend said he was very athletic and thought he would make it to shore.  The VHF was not working so the friend of the victim called his mother who called the Coast Guard for a vessel in distress.  The two remaining men stayed with the vessel as it was sinking, put their life jackets on and were rescued about 20 minutes later by the Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard began a search for the missing victim.  The operator and the victim's friend were given field sobriety tests and portable breathalyzer tests.  The operator admitted to having 1 beer but passed both tests.  The friend admitted being intoxicated and failed both tests.  As the operator was not under the influence there were no charges in this case.  The victim's body was recovered the next day.   Alcohol and drugs were contributing factors in this case.
Boston                        