Overview
- A Salerno judge sentenced 32-year-old Elio Persico to four years and nine months in prison for manslaughter after he sought a plea bargain.
- Toxicology testing after the August 2023 collision found Persico positive for cocaine and alcohol.
- The 9-meter motorboat carrying Adrienne Vaughan, her husband and two children collided with the 45-meter sailboat Tortuga while heading to Positano.
- Eyewitness accounts and video described the motorboat suddenly veering 180 degrees before impact, and Vaughan was thrown overboard and fatally struck by propellers.
- Salerno’s prosecutor said the Tortuga’s captain tested negative for substances, was not under investigation, and none of the roughly 80 people on board were injured.