Crime & Safety
2 Sailors Aboard Ill-Fated Aegean Killed by Blunt Force Trauma, Another Drowned, Coroner Says
Kevin Rudolph, William Johnson Jr. and Joseph Stewart lost their lives during the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. A fourth sailor -- believed to be Theo Mavromatis -- remains unaccounted for.
Blunt-force trauma and drowning killed three of the sailors who perished last weekend in the , according to a San Diego County Coroner's report released this afternoon.
Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach, William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance, and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla., lost their lives in the . Rudolph died from blunt-force injuries to his head and neck, Johnson from multiple blunt-force injuries and Stewart drowned, the coroner said.
The fourth crewman was Theo Mavromatis, the 37-foot Aegean's skipper, according to Ray Pollock of Marina Sailing, which rented the boat for Mavromatis. On Sunday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard officials suspended the search for Mavromatis after examining more than 600 square miles of ocean.
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Authorities believe the Aegean collided with a larger vessel in the dark of night, but the incident remains under investigation.
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