Family calls for justice after father killed in boat crash with allegedly intoxicated San Bernardino County deputy
La Verne father of two Weston Stewart, 38, died after his boat collided with another boat on the Colorado River, just south of the Needles bridge in Needles, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
"On our way back home we got the call from my nephew Jeremiah saying that his dad's dead," said Peyton Stewart, the victim's brother. "He's just crying and screaming on the phone."
That second boat was allegedly being driven by Bruce Southworth, an off-duty SBSD deputy who was arrested and booked for negligent use of a watercraft while intoxicated causing injury following the crash. He has since been placed on administrative leave and department investigators say that the criminal investigation will be submitted to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office for filing.
Stewart's family members are concerned about the fairness of that investigation, given that Southworth is not only a deputy, but one of six local first responders who were nationally recognized in 2018 for their response to the San Bernardino workplace terror attack in 2015.
"I don't take any enjoyment in his peril, but at the same time, he killed my brother, you know?" Peyton Stewart said. "We think he will get preferential treatment."
He says that some witnesses told him Southworth was driving recklessly prior to the crash and that people were telling him to slow down.
"You just hope it's not a conflict of interest where they have better intentions for one party versus the other," said Samantha Stewart, Weston's sister-in-law. "We'll never got Weston back."
They remember him as a man with a personality and heart larger than life who spent most of his time on the water.
As the investigation continues and they begin to wade through the difficulties of their loss, friends have started a GoFundMe to help Weston's sons. It can be found by searching for the key words: Help Weston's Sons Through This Tragedy.
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