Captain Sentenced for Motorboat Crash That Killed U.S. CEO and Mom of 2 Adrienne Vaughan off Italy's Coast By Gabrielle Rockson

The captain of a speedboat that crashed and killed an American publishing executive in Italy in August 2023 has been sentenced, according to a report.

On Friday, Nov. 21, Elio Persico, 32, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for manslaughter after requesting a plea bargain, his attorney Liberato Mazzola told AFP, per CBS News.

PEOPLE previously reported Adrienne Vaughan — the CEO of the U.S. branch of publication company Bloomsbury — died at the age of 45 after being flung from the motorboat off the coast of Italy’s Amalfi Coast in August 2023.

Vaughan had been with her husband and two children on the 9-meter speedboat when it collided with a 45-meter boat named the Tortuga, U.K. newspaper The Guardian and CNN reported at the time.

According to CBS News, Persico had tested positive for cocaine and alcohol at the time of the incident.

PEOPLE has contacted Persico’s attorney for comment.

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“The vessel was going straight, and so was the hull,” bartender Pietro Iuzzolino, who was making cocktails on the larger boat, told Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno at the time. “Then suddenly it turned 180 degrees: there was a collision, and I heard a very loud bang. I saw the woman in the water, supported by her children and husband … It was terrible.”

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After Vaughan fell overboard, she was hit by the boat’s propeller, per The Guardian. Vaughan was pulled out of the water and pronounced her dead at the scene according to the Associated Press. 

While Vaughan’s daughter was also flung into the water, she did not sustain any injuries, per CBS News. PEOPLE previously reported that Vaughan’s husband was taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury.

The motorboat had been heading to Positano when it crashed, Italian media reported, per CBS News.

The public prosecutor of Salerno, Marinella Guglielmotti, told CNN shortly after the crash that the captain of the Tortuga tested negative for substances and was not under investigation. 

She added that none of the 80 passengers on the Tortuga were injured.

Bloomsbury’s board chair, Julia Reidhead and president and CEO, Maria A. Pallante confirmed Vaughan’s death to the AP in a joint statement at the time of the incident.

Calling her “a leader of dazzling talent and infectious passion,” the statement continued that “[Vaughan] had a deep commitment to authors and readers. Most of all she was an extraordinary human being, and those of us who had the opportunity to work with her will be forever fortunate.”