Mount Laurel man acquitted in boating death

A Cecil County, Md., jury has acquitted a Mount Laurel man who was accused of being impaired by alcohol during a boating accident that killed a Philadelphia woman.

The not-guilty verdict came after five hours of deliberations over two days in the trial of Mark Rosati, 53, who had been charged with negligent manslaughter by vessel and a lesser alcohol-related homicide count.

Prosecutors had alleged that Rosati was impaired by alcohol when his 42-foot speedboat crashed into a personal watercraft on the Elk River in July 2007, killing Kristy Szewczak, 21. She was riding on the watercraft operated by Christopher Leight, 30, who was critically injured. The defense argued that Leight should have yielded the right-of-way to Rosati's boat.

- AP