HUDSON RIVER Driver charged in crash

Associated Press

PIERMONT, N.Y.

The driver of a speedboat that slammed into a construction barge on the Hudson River — hurling a bride-to-be and her fiance’s best man into the water — has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, authorities said Saturday.

Jojo John, 35, of Nyack also was charged with three counts of vehicular assault at his hospital bedside as he recovers from Friday night’s crash, Rockland County Sheriff’s Department Chief William Barbera said.

John’s bail was set at $250,000, and he will be transported to the Rockland County Jail after he is released from the hospital, Barbera said. John is suspected of operating the boat while intoxicated, according to Barbera.

Earlier Saturday, authorities pulled a woman’s body from the water that matches the description of 30-year-old Lindsey Stewart. The bride-to-be was hurled into the water after the accident near the Tappan Zee Bridge, about a half-hour’s drive north of New York City.

Stewart, of Piermont, worked for an insurance company. She was set to be married Aug. 10. Her fiance, art teacher Brian Bond, was among four others injured in the crash.

Rescuers are still trying to locate one other passenger, her fiance’s best man, 30-year-old Mark Lennon.

Officials were working to confirm that the body found Saturday was Stewart’s.

Authorities did not have further updates Saturday evening.