By: Tracie Carter
An Atco man has been sentenced to state prison for causing a deadly boating crash in Great Bay that claimed one life and injured two others, prosecutors announced.
On Monday, October 6, 2025, Jason Santo, 44, appeared before Superior Court Judge Donna M. Taylor and received an aggregate sentence of five years in New Jersey State Prison.
Under the No Early Release Act, Santo must serve 85% of his term before becoming eligible for parole.
His sentence also includes a mandatory three-year period of parole supervision and a five-year suspension of his driver’s license.
The charges stem from an August 11, 2023 incident, when Santo was operating his boat in the Intercoastal Waterway section of Great Bay. Investigators said Santo admitted he was intoxicated and traveling at high speed in the dark when he struck a channel marker.
The crash killed passenger Mark Risden, 44, of Tabernacle, and caused injuries to two other passengers onboard.
Emergency responders from the New Jersey State Police Marine Service Bureau, the U.S. Coast Guard, and TowBoat US assisted in rescuing the occupants.
Following a thorough investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Fatal Crash Investigation Unit, authorities determined that Santo’s excessive speed and intoxication were major factors in the crash.
Santo pleaded guilty on August 5, 2025, to one count of second-degree Reckless Death by Vessel and two counts of fourth-degree Assault by Vessel.