A jet ski operator was arrested for allegedly drunkenly smashing into a pal’s jet ski near Randalls Island over the weekend — killing a 26-year-old female passengerwho was thrown off and found floating facedown in the water.
Yeisson Reyes-Rodriguez, 27, was arrested on Sunday and hit with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree vehicular manslaughter charges for the fatal crash that unfolded in the Harlem River around 10 p.m. on Saturday, according to a criminal complaint.
Reyes-Rodriguez, of Passaic, New Jersey, and four others, including the victim, were drinking and playing music on Randall’s Island until it turned dark outside, the complaint said.
The five then decided to hop onto their jet skis to return to Fort Lee on the Harlem River.
Reyes-Rodriguez was operating one jet ski with a 28-year-old female passenger, and a 26-year-old man was operating another jet ski with the 26-year-old female passenger — who was killed. The fifth person was on their own jet ski, prosecutors added.
As the 26-year-old man tried to make a U-turn, heading west, then heading south, Reyez-Rodriguez allegedly plowed his jet ski into their watercraft.
All four passengers were ejected into the river by the sudden impact.
The 26-year-old woman, who was seated on the back of the jet ski, was pulled out of the river unresponsive and unconscious, police said.
She was later taken to Harlem Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Reyes-Rodrigeuz had a blood alcohol level of 0.141% when cops gave him a breathalyzer test around 11:40 p.m. It is illegal to operate a jet ski or any other vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or more, according to the complaint.
He claimed to cops that he had only chugged three drinks on Randall’s Island before they headed back to the Garden State.
The alleged drunken jet-skier also told investigators it was too dark for him to see clearly before the fatal crash.
Reyes-Rodriguez was arraigned and ordered held on a $25,000 bond.
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