Drunk Jersey Shore Boater Charged with Homicide in Third D.e.a.d.l.y Crash This Summer – Passengers Slaughtered in Alcoholic Boat Nightmare
In the sun-soaked yet deadly summer of 2026 along New Jersey’s infamous Jersey Shore, a chilling pattern of drunken boat disasters has turned paradise into a graveyard. The latest victim is 40-year-old Kevin Wells, who faces vessel homicide charges after his 32-foot Boston Whaler slammed into a channel marker near Toms River on July 25, killing 26-year-old construction worker Michael T. Bereheiko and injuring two men and a woman. This is the third such fatal crash this summer involving intoxicated boaters, each one a preventable tragedy that has left families shattered and authorities demanding answers.
Wells was arrested and formally charged on August 29 with reckless vessel homicide and two counts of assault by vessel while intoxicated. Court records show he appeared intoxicated while piloting the boat, striking the marker around 10:45 a.m. in waters near Toms River. First responders rushed the victims to nearby hospitals. Michael Bereheiko, a bright young construction worker from Green Brook, never made it. He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. His family described him in his obituary as a former star high school football player who cherished quiet moments at the Jersey Shore — relaxing, laughing, and spending time with loved ones. Two 27-year-old men suffered serious injuries, while a 24-year-old woman was scraped up but survived. Wells himself was rushed to the same residence in Toms River before authorities took him into custody.
What makes this case particularly shocking is the horrifying similarity to two other deadly incidents earlier this summer. On July 19, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider allegedly crashed his boat into a wooden channel marker in Barnegat Bay while intoxicated (blood alcohol level 0.16). The impact flung his two grandchildren — 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek — into the dark water. Their grandmother’s desperate 911 call captured raw panic: “We have one on the boat and my husband’s in the water trying to get the other child out!” The children were pulled from the water, but both died despite CPR attempts. On Memorial Day, 59-year-old Jennifer Pearson was charged after an alleged drunken crash that killed her own son, Gunnar Pearson, 28.
Each crash involved striking a channel marker at speed, a common yet lethal error in the shallow, winding waters of the Jersey Shore. Police and prosecutors have repeatedly emphasized that alcohol is the root cause — and the one factor completely avoidable. Ocean County authorities are now treating these as a wave of reckless vessel homicides, sending a loud message that drinking and boating do not mix. Wells’s case remains in the early stages; he could not be reached for comment, and a lawyer has not yet been identified. He is scheduled to appear in Ocean County Court.
This summer’s deadly trio has ignited fresh outrage on the Jersey Shore, where families gather for fun but have now lost loved ones to one too many drinks. Experts in maritime safety and DWI enforcement warn that the combination of alcohol, fast-moving boats, and unpredictable shallow waters creates a perfect storm for tragedy. With three victims dead and multiple injuries already this season, calls for stricter enforcement of boat DUI laws are growing louder. The question on everyone’s mind: how many more lives will be lost before regulators and boaters alike act?
