Ryan O’Neal Son Acquitted in Boat Manslaughter Case

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  The son of actor Ryan O’Neal was acquitted of boat manslaughter but convicted of a lesser charge Thursday by a judge who said he was driving too fast when his boat hit a tow rope, killing the son of director Francis Ford Coppola.

Griffin O’Neal made an error in judgment on Memorial Day when he cut between two boats connected by a 50-foot tow rope, Judge Martin Wolff ruled.

Gian-Carlo Coppola was hit by the rope and thrown to the bottom of the 14-foot runabout with such force that his skull was crushed.

Wolff found O’Neal, 22, not guilty of manslaughter and two charges involving reckless operation of a boat. He found him guilty on one count of operating a boat “in such a manner that endangered the person and property of others” and merged two other negligence counts into that one.

Feb. 27 Sentencing

Sentencing was set for Feb. 27. The maximum penalty would be 30 days in jail and a $200 fine.

As he left the Anne Arundel County Courthouse with his son, Ryan O’Neal said he was “thrilled” by the verdict. He added: “My heart goes out to the Coppola family.”

Said Griffin: “It was an accident. I’m very sorry that it happened.”

Wolff, who presided over the three-day non-jury trial, said O’Neal was operating the boat too fast and violated two other safe-boating rules dealing with taking risks and overtaking other boats.

Cites Negligence

He said O’Neal had been negligent before the accident that killed his friend but that “death and negligence (do) not equal manslaughter.”

In reviewing evidence that O’Neal and Coppola had drunk a six-pack of beer on the boat and had had two or three drinks each with lunch at a restaurant, Wolff said every witness who came in contact with him after the accident reported that he did not appear to be drunk.

“There is no evidence that the defendant was impaired or intoxicated,” the judge said.

Gerald Anders, an assistant state’s attorney, said in his closing arguments Wednesday that he believes O’Neal may have seen the tow rope and decided to go under it.

“I do not believe that he saw the rope until the last minute,” Wolff said.