According to the investigation, Juan Fernandez II was piloting a 2014 Bennington Pontoon boat in Barnegat Bay when he collided head-on with Intracoastal Waterway Marker #26.

He was able to guide the watercraft to Antiqua Avenue after the incident, where he was met by Toms River police and emergency responders. Initially, Fernandez stated that there were six people on board, but authorities eventually discovered that there were nine people on board before to the disaster, three of whom were let off moments before the collision. Two people were ejected from the vehicle during the collision.

The New Jersey State Police, in collaboration with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, charged Juan A. Fernandez II with Vehicular Homicide (2nd Degree), Strict Liability Vehicular Homicide (3rd Degree), and Hindering as a result of a toxicology report on blood obtained from Fernandez on the morning of the crash and information obtained as a result of the investigation (Third Degree). On September 8, Juan A. Fernandez II was detained in Boonton, New Jersey. He was arrested and escorted to the NJSP Tuckerton Station, where he was processed before being booked into the Ocean County Jail pending a bail hearing.