NJ Boater Sued Over Death of Philly Marketing Exec

The family of a Philadelphia marketing executive on Monday filed a wrongful death suit against the New Jersey boater who was allegedly drunk at the wheel when he hit her while she was swimming off the dock of her Atlantic City townhouse.

In a complaint filed in Atlantic County Superior Court, the daughters of Norma Janet Michaels said their mother’s life was “senselessly snuffed out” by Jeffrey Jastrzembski on Aug. 12, 2023, when he was operating a 20-foot Robalo boat in the Intracoastal Waterway.

According to the complaint, Michaels was swimming just off the dock while Jastrzembski was operating the boat, and he sped directly toward her before making a late turn. The boat’s propeller hit Michaels, causing numerous catastrophic injuries that resulted in her death.

The complaint alleges that Jastrzembski had a blood alcohol content of higher than .19% at the time of the collision, and was seen throwing empty beer cans over the side of his boat after he hit Michaels. The complaint was filed by Michaels’ daughter Hope Cohen, as executrix of her estate.

“Drinking and boating is a crime,” Robert J. Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, representing the family, told Law360 on Monday. “The Michaels family has brought this lawsuit to hold the defendant accountable for his reckless and outrageous actions that killed their beloved mother. They intentionally filed this lawsuit in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day in the hopes that the publicity from this lawsuit will help educate boaters not to drink and boat, make our waterways safer and save lives.”

The suit includes claims for negligence, wrongful death and survival actions against Jastrzembeski, as well as a negligent entrustment claim against John Doe defendants who may have allowed Jastrzembski to operate the vessel and cause the accident.

According to media reports, Jastrzembski was indicted for the crash in March.

“We cannot and will not allow her untimely, entirely preventable death to just fade into the background,” Michaels’ daughters said in a statement Monday. “Justice to us means holding the defendant to account for his repulsive actions and, being proactive — in our mother’s name — doing whatever we can to support agencies that license and supervise boaters. We support re-doubling enforcement and public information efforts to prevent intoxicated boaters from injuring, even killing, innocent swimmers like our precious mother.”

Representatives for Jastrzembski could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

The Michaels family is represented by Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Andrew R. Duffy and Douglas Disandro Jr. of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC.

Counsel information for Jastrzembski was not available Monday.

The case is Cohen v. Jastrzembski et al., case number ATL-L-000974-24, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County.

–Editing by Marygrace Anderson.