An Atlantic City man has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after an investigation into a boating crash that killed a woman swimming in the Intercoastal Waterway last summer, authorities said.
The Aug. 12 crash happened just before 5:15 p.m. near the Albany Avenue Bridge. Jeffrey Jastrzembski, 53, of Atlantic City, allegedly struck and killed 70-year-old Norma Michaels, also of Atlantic City, after accelerating his fishing boat toward the docks. Jastrzembski was not injured.
- MORE NEWS
- 2024 Broad Street Run returns to May race date and finish line location inside Navy Yard
- Eastern State Penitentiary's new series intends to spark dialogue about incarceration and civil rights
- Holocaust memorial in Center City hit with yet another act of vandalism
Investigators say Jastrzembski made an "aggressive turn" near the port, causing his boat's propeller to strike Michaels.
Jastrzembski allegedly had a blood alcohol content between 0.19% and 0.23% at the time of the crash, more than twice the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said.
Michaels ran an events business in Philadelphia prior to her death. An online obituary described her as "a fierce matriarch, self-made businesswoman, and beloved member of her community."
The case was investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Crash Investigation Unit and the New Jersey State Police.