TOMS RIVER – A Somerset County man was in Ocean County Superior Court Tuesday as attorneys continued working toward a possible plea agreement in the Barnegat Bay boat crash that killed one passenger and seriously injured two others.
Kevin M. Wells, 40, of Warren, is charged with second-degree death by vessel and two third-degree counts of assault by vessel while intoxicated. He is accused of operating a Boston Whaler while under the influence when it struck a channel marker near the Route 37 bridge on July 25.
Defense attorney Tara Breslow and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke appeared in the matter before Judge Guy P. Ryan during an Early Disposition Program hearing. No plea terms were announced, but the lawyers indicated discussions while discovery remains outstanding and a formal plea offer is pending.
Victim family members watched the in-person proceedings by Zoom. Ryan rescheduled the case for 9 a.m. November 16 before Judge Kenneth Palmer.
What Court Records Allege
Court documents provide a fuller account of the allegations. They state that Wells and four passengers spent part of July 25 boating on Barnegat Bay before stopping at B2 Bistro and Bar in Bayville. Investigators reviewed surveillance video and a receipt showing that Wells consumed at least four alcoholic drinks while the group was there.
The group left the restaurant at approximately 10:15 p.m. Less than 30 minutes later, the boat struck Intracoastal Waterway Marker 22 in the area of the Route 37 bridge.
Michael Bereheiko, Steven Pochick and Nicholas Cherasaro suffered serious injuries in the collision, while Sarah Stuhl was injured less seriously. As Stuhl called 911, Wells drove the boat to a Toms River residence, where emergency responders met the group, according to the affidavit.
Bereheiko was taken to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, where he was pronounced dead. Pochick and Cherasaro were airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries.
Court papers state that Pochick suffered severe head and neck injuries, including a skull fracture. Cherasaro suffered three broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae.
Troopers who met Wells at the scene reported that he had bloodshot, watery eyes and showed signs of impairment during standardized field sobriety testing. A judge authorized a blood draw early the next morning. “The results revealed Wells’ blood-alcohol concentration was 0.121% at the time of the blood draw on July 26, 2026,” the affidavit states.
Investigators also said Stuhl and Cherasaro told them that Wells had been operating the boat and that everyone aboard had consumed alcohol throughout the day.
Troopers initially found approximately five empty alcoholic beverage containers and a large amount of blood inside the boat. The later evidence inventory lists those five empty containers, two vodka bottles and dozens of beer and canned-cocktail containers, many of them unopened. By count, the individual alcohol items listed in the inventory total 131 containers.
Detectives also recovered two blood-covered sweatshirts, two GPS units, four bags of personal belongings and two iPhones, one with a black case. The GPS units were seized for data analysis, and records show the boat remained registered to the Toms River man who owned the residence, but was in the process of being transferred to Wells.
Third DWI-Related Boat Fatality Case
Wells’ case is the third Ocean County boating fatality crash this summer in which the operator has been accused of operating a vessel while intoxicated.
Jennifer L. Pearson of Barnegat is charged with reckless vessel homicide and related offenses in the Memorial Day death of her son, Gunnar Pearson, 28. Authorities allege her boat struck a day marker near Brant Beach.
Stephen Schneider of Berkeley Township faces two reckless vessel homicide counts after his grandchildren, Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7, died following a July 19 crash in which a boat struck a channel marker off Berkeley Township.
The charges against Wells, Pearson, and Schneider are accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
