By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Prosecutors said Thursday a third boat may have been involved in a fatal boat crash on Fourth of July weekend that left one man dead.
Because the details of the crash are still being investigated, the DA has not yet obtained an indictment against Richard Aquilone, 39, an investment banker charged with manslaughter for allegedly killing Jijo Puthuyamkunnath, 30, while driving his boat drunk July 2.
Puthuyamkunnath was a physical therapist in N.J. who was only weeks away from his wedding day when he died in the boat crash.
The third boat believed to be involved was a Shark sight-seeing speedboat, the New York Post reported.
"The Shark boat cut in front of my client," Aquilone's lawyer said, the Post reported. "Under maritime rules, the Shark boat — the boat on the right — is supposed to yield. But he did not give way, causing my guy to veer, and creating a tremendous wake."
The lawyer said that the wake made it impossible for his client to see the small boat that he eventually hit, the Post said.
Aquilone waived his right to a speedy trial Wednesday.
He was released on $50,000 bail after his arrest on July 2 for operating his 30-foot Pro-Line Motor Boat with a .06 blood alcohol level and crashing into Puthuyamkunnath's vessel in the Hudson River.
In addition to vehicular manslaughter charges, Aquilone also faces endangering the welfare of a child — his children were on the boat with him — and intoxicated driving charges.
He is scheduled to reappear in court on September 27.
