Newly released 911 calls provide new details about a boat crash off the coast of New Jersey that killed two young children, as their grandfather faces charges for allegedly operating the boat while drunk.
The July 19 crash happened in the waters off Berkeley Township, when 64-year-old Stephen Schneider struck a lit channel marker, authorities said. Prosecutors allege Schneider had a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit.
Schneider’s 9-year-old granddaughter and 7-year-old grandson were thrown into the water, prosecutors said. The 911 recordings provide a look into the desperate efforts to reach the children after the impact.
“We have one on the boat and my husband’s in the water trying to get the other child out,” said the caller, who was the children’s grandmother.
The 911 dispatcher can be heard asking if the children were unconscious, to which the grandmother replies, “Yes, yes they are!”
In another portion of the call, the grandmother tried to pinpoint their location near a channel marker.
“Stephen, are we near channel marker 39? I think my husband’s in the water trying to get one of the other kids out!” the caller said.
Both children were killed in the crash. Schneider was charged with reckless vessel homicide.
In court, the children’s parents wrote letters to the judge asking for Schneider’s release. The judge ultimately granted the request.
As the case draws attention to boating safety, police said it has been a deadly year on the water, with at least six boating fatalities.
“Anytime kids are involved, it brings a different level of trauma,” said New Jersey State Police Sgt. Bryan Davern.
Another deadly case on the water was highlighted in court Friday. Authorities said 59-year-old Jennifer Pearson was charged with death by vessel and operating under the influence after a boat crash in Barnegat Bay on Memorial Day that killed her 28-year-old son, Gunnar Pearson.
State police said they have been stepping up efforts to warn the public about the dangers on the water.
“We’re out there, we’re doing more proactive patrols. We are doing these proactive patrols in the areas where we compiled stats and where these fatals are mostly occurring,” Davern said. “We’re trying to hit those areas, and we’re out there to educate the public, we’re out there to keep them safe.”
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.