Woman released on $10K bail after husband killed in Thurston County boat accident
A 50-year-old woman accused of hitting and killing her husband while attempting to load a pontoon-style boat onto a trailer on Saturday at Long Lake near Lacey was released from the Thurston County Jail on bail of $10,000.
Christine Terese Mango attended her preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday.
A judge found probable cause for the crime of homicide by watercraft, domestic violence, court records show.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mango on June 13 after she allegedly drove a boat intoxicated and pinned a man between the boat and a truck at Long Lake, near Lacey, The Olympian previously reported.
The man later died from his injuries, Lt. Cameron Simper told The Olympian.
According to the June 15 probable cause statement filed in Thurston County Superior Court, the two were husband and wife. The victim was identified as 50-year-old John Mango.
Simper told The Olympian on June 15 that deputies responded at 6:52 p.m. on June 13 to a boating injury at the public access boat launch. He said an investigation revealed that a pontoon was being loaded onto a trailer. The vessel accelerated forward and pinned John between the boat and the truck, he said.
Simper said John suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he later died.
Simper said the driver of the boat, Christine Mango, was arrested in connection to the incident. He said she showed signs of being heavily impaired while operating the boat. She was arrested on suspicion of homicide by watercraft and boating while intoxicated. She has not yet been charged.
Her arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 23 in Thurston County Superior Court.
According to the June 15 probable cause statement, witnesses saw the couple trying to load their boat onto a trailer attached to a truck. Witnesses allegedly told investigators that the man, who was standing between the boat and the trailer, was trying to direct his wife, who was driving the boat onto the trailer.
Witnesses stated they heard a thump and thought the man’s hand was trapped between the boat and the truck, the statement said.
“They stated Christine had gunned the boat forward, and when the witness went to help, he saw John had a cut on his head,” according to the statement.
Christine allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol with her husband over the course of several hours while on the water, according to the statement, and stated that she had two to three drinks over four to five hours.
She failed a number of field sobriety tests conducted by the deputy on scene, according to the statement, and the deputy arrested her. At that point her husband had been loaded into an ambulance to be transported to a field to be airlifted to the hospital, the statement said.
Christine was then taken to MultiCare Capital Medical Center in Olympia for a blood sample to test her blood alcohol concentration, according to the statement. She was informed of her husband’s passing, and she was transported to the Thurston County Jail.
According to the statement, the deputy on scene went back to examine the truck, trailer and boat. The deputy reported finding 10 to 15 open cans of alcohol in the boat’s trashcan, the statement said.
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