A speedboat captain has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison after a fatal collision off Italy's Amalfi Coast that resulted in the death of a prominent publishing executive.
Tragic Collision on the Amalfi Coast
Elio Persico, 32, was operating the motorboat while under the influence of both alcohol and cocaine when it collided with the 130-foot sailing ship 'Tortuga' on August 3, 2023. The impact threw Adrienne Vaughan, 45, the President of Bloomsbury Publishing USA, overboard. Tragically, she was struck by the speedboat's propeller during the incident.
Vaughan was on a family holiday with her husband, Mike White, and their two young children when the disaster occurred. Emergency services performed CPR after she was rescued from the water, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Intoxicated Operation and Witness Accounts
Persico faced charges of manslaughter and negligent injury after tests confirmed he had both alcohol and cocaine in his system following the crash. The collision also left Persico with injuries to his ribs and pelvis.
Witness Pietro Iuzzolino provided a chilling account to Italian media, stating: "The sailboat was going straight ahead and so was the motorboat. Then suddenly it veered 180 degrees: there was a collision and I heard a very loud bang." Iuzzolino added that he believed Persico was intoxicated, claiming he saw him vomit after the crash.
Family Tragedy and Professional Loss
The crash caused significant injuries to Vaughan's husband, Mike White, who required surgery on his collarbone. The couple's children, though physically unharmed, were treated for shock.
In a heartbreaking statement, White told the New York Post: "Adrienne's death has devastated our family. She was a beloved mother, wife, daughter, sister, niece, and dear friend and colleague to many. Her absence from our lives and the terrible circumstances of her death are impossible to comprehend." White also told authorities that Persico appeared to be distracted by his phone during the trip.
Bloomsbury Publishing, the house famous for the Harry Potter series, paid tribute to Vaughan shortly after her death. Chief Executive Nigel Newton described her as "a natural business leader with a great future ahead of her" and noted her "great personal warmth" and "fierce determination to make the business succeed and grow."
Persico received his sentence of four years and nine months after requesting a plea bargain, bringing a legal conclusion to a tragedy that has left both a family and an industry in mourning.
