40°
Blood was taken from the skipper following the crash late last week that killed Adrienne Vaughan, the 45-year-old New York president of Bloomsbury Publishing from Glen Rock, in front of her husband and their two children, Italian authorities confirmed.
It was all part of a continuing investigation into the captain's condition before the crash, Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Borrelli of the port city of Salerno said at a news conference.
Italian media identified the captain as 30-year-old Elio Persico.
Although Persico hasn't been charged, Borelli confirmed that he's being investigated on suspicion of both manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.
And although word spread in the Italian media that Persico had failed a blood test -- with some claiming cocaine was found in his system -- the chief prosecutor said the findings at the moment are inconclusive.
“The results are being evaluated by a consultant of the prosecutor’s office since the data per se aren’t necessarily significant,” Borelli told reporters.
The family was on a site-seeing trip outside Positano when the 29-foot speedboat slammed into the much larger chartered sailboat carrying 80 or so passengers and crew on Thursday, Aug. 3.
Vaughn, who was sunbathing on the bow, was hurled into the water and into a propeller, Italian authorities said.
Two physicians on the stopped sailboat dove in to try and rescue Vaughn, they said, but she died before a helicopter that was summoned could get her to a hospital.
The captain was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and broken ribs, Borelli said.
Vaughan's husband, Mike White, was taken to a hospital in Castiglione di Ravello, where he underwent surgery on his left shoulder, according to Italian media.
The children -- ages 14 and 11 -- were treated for shock before being brought back to the village of Sant'Agata dei due Golfi in the Gulf of Naples, where they'd been staying.
A grandfather flew to Italy to help, Borelli said.
A disturbing video recorded by a guest at a wedding party on the 130-foot sailboat shows attendees in swimsuits dancing to "Everybody," by the Backstreet Boys, when the boat is struck.
“What happened?” a woman asks.
“This ship collided with us!” a man replies.
“Jesus Christ,” another man cries out.
The guests lean over the railings to see the wreckage and the victim's daughter bobbing in the water amid the debris.
A witness told the Corriere del Mezzogiorno newspaper that the speedboat captain was vomiting and "gave the impression he was drunk."
Borelli said investigators were investigating a witness' report that the captain was on his cellphone at the time.
They are also looking into whether he caused Vaughan's death by immediately throwing the engines into reverse after hitting the sailboat.
Vaughan, whose company is best known for the “Harry Potter” books, was executive director and COO of Bloomsbury USA before being named president in September 2021.
She'd graduated from the NYU'S Stern School of Business with an MBA in finance and had worked as an executive for the Disney publishing group from 2015 to 2018.
White and Vaughan met at the College of William & Mary in Virginia and were married in November 2008.
She and White built their Highwood Avenue home in Glen Rock in 2013, records show.
They'd vacationed with family in Italy before and this time arrived earlier in the week. Photos showed them visiting the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum and other landmarks in Rome.
They'd apparently reached Positano, an idyllic seaside resort, the day of the crash.
Bloomsbury Publishing issued a statement that read, in part:
"Adrienne was a natural business leader with a great future ahead of her. She was deeply loved by colleagues due to her combination of great personal warmth with a fierce determination to make the business succeed and grow. Her business instincts were outstanding and she loved authors, readers and her colleagues equally."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Pascack Valley and receive free news updates.
