Young man charged in deadly Cape Cod boat crash that left teen girl dead gets probation

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A young man charged in connection with a deadly boat crash off Cape Cod that left a teenage girl dead last summer recently learned his sentence.

David K. Sullivan, of Medfield, was found guilty in Barnstable Superior Court on July 15 of boat homicide by negligence and possessing alcohol under the age of 21, according to a spokesperson for the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office.

The court asked for a suspended sentence of two-and-a-half years in a house of correction, in addition to five years of probation, a request that the family of 17-year-old Sadie Mauro agreed to, the spokesperson said.

Mauro, a rising senior at Dover-Sherborn High School, was one of six passengers aboard a boat that struck a jetty in Sesuit Harbor off Cold Storage Beach in Dennis in July 2023. She ultimately died as a result of the crash.

Family members said that Mauro, a star athlete, had committed to playing lacrosse at Gettysburg College.

Sullivan, who was a Dartmouth College freshman at the time of the crash, pleaded not guilty in October 2023 to charges in connection with Mauro death’s.

Court documents showed that Mauro was Sullivan’s “girlfriend and best friend.”

“Not a day has gone by that Mr. Sullivan has not grieved with his girlfriend’s family, relieved the horrors of the accident, and prepared for the possibility of having to defend himself against criminal charges,” Boston Attorneys David Meier and Hannah Black, who are representing Sullivan, previously wrote in a court memorandum.

Sullivan, who was thrown from the boat, tried to help save the people who had been on the vessel, according to his attorneys. He also dove back into the water in search of Mauro.

“In the seconds, minutes, and hours after the accident he acted responsibly and deliberately, with sound judgment and coordinated motor skills, and did his best to locate and save the other individuals who had been on the boat, to summon help and to cooperate with police investigators,” his attorneys wrote.

Sullivan was also charged with possession of a false RMV document, which he was granted a continuation without a finding, according to the court. He was ultimately sentenced to five years of probation with conditions requested by the Commonwealth.

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