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Man gets jail in Hudson River crash that killed bride-to-be, best man

Jojo John appears for his arraignment in Rockland County, N.Y., on Nov. 20, 2013. He was sentenced Sept. 16 to two years in jail for the crash.
(Ricky Flores / Associated Press)
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A New York man has been sentenced to two years in county jail after a boat he was driving crashed into a barge on the Hudson River, killing a bride-to-be and her fiance’s best man.

Jojo K. John, 36, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of felony vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of his friends Lindsey Stewart and Mark Lennon, both 30.

John was driving a 19-foot Stingray speedboat on the night of July 26, 2013, when it slammed into a barge containing construction materials. The impact threw Stewart and Lennon out of the boat, killing them and injuring John and four others, including the groom-to-be, Brian Bond.

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Stewart and Bond were supposed to be married two weeks later, and Lennon was to be the best man.

John was later determined to have a blood alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit, at the time of the collision. Authorities also found traces of cocaine in his system.

During the sentencing, John addressed the victims’ families, saying that “if I could, I would give my own life” to bring them back, the Associated Press reported.

“There are days when I question why God took two people and not me.... I find myself crying a lot because of how my heart feels about them not being here,” John said, according to the Associated Press.

John’s attorney, David Narain, said in a statement that his client has accepted responsibility for his role in the crash and his friends’ deaths. “Their losses and injuries will be something that he will carry with him for the rest of his life,” Narain said.

Narain and the families of the victims have said that the barge was not sufficiently lighted that night, a point that Narain promised would be pursued in lawsuits pending in federal court. Prosecutors and the Coast Guard have said the barge, which contained construction materials for nearby bridge work, had the required lights.

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Rockland County Dist. Atty. Thomas Zugibe said in a statement that John’s sentence was “more than justified.”

“The defendant’s reckless decision to drive a speedboat while under the influence of alcohol and drugs tragically caused the untimely deaths of two innocent people,” Zugibe said. “He has now been held accountable.”

For more breaking news, follow me @cmaiduc.

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