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Driver Charged With Negligent Manslaughter In Maritime Park Inner Tube Death
May 6, 2022
A 20-year old has been charged with negligent manslaughter in connection with the death of a teen last week at Maritime Park.
The inner tube accident killed 18-year old Christian Garner.
Joseph Brooks Squirewell was booked into the Escambia County Jail Thursday night and quickly released on a $25,000 bond.
A truck was being used to pull an inner tube placed in the retention pond at the park, according to Pensacola Police. The inner tube was pulled out of the pond with Garner onboard and landed in the parking lot.
According to the arrest report, Squirewell was driving recklessly before the incident and did not head multiple warnings from other people at the location.
Squirewell was driving “in a manner which he knew to be reckless and likely to cause serious bodily harm or death”, the report states.
He drove the truck “too far and too fast”, and “this caused Garner to be thrown from the inner tube and land in the parking lot,” police said.
“It was consistent and clear that many people warned (Squirewell), and he was aware of the dangers associated with this act and he ignored those warnings,” the report states. “(Squirewell) was told numerous times by multiple people that he needed to drive slowly and be cautious, due to the embankment and the parking lot.”
Security cameras at Maritime Park and the Pensacola City Hall captured the tragic incident from multiple angles.
“The truck appeared to rapidly accelerate and continue to do so beyond a point in which the inner tube was pulled from the water,” the report states.
“During the time between the tubing events, the camera footage showed (Squirewell) doing ‘donuts’ in the parking lot and nearly running over a person,” the report also sate, and video reportedly showed his truck sliding through the parking lot.
Comments
18 Responses to “Driver Charged With Negligent Manslaughter In Maritime Park Inner Tube Death”
REGARDING:
“Noone wondering why LEO didn’t know this was going on ?”
Generally, people do not knowingly do things which law enforcement officers would dislike in front of those same law enforcement officers. That is why marked cars stop more crimes from happening whereas unmarked cars catch people breaking laws. Better to stop them from being broken in the first place, though.
Law enforcement officers are not everywhere. Nor do we tend to want to be watched by them every second of the day, even though we would be safer.
Actions which can kill or otherwise injure quite often happen quickly. Consider the fact that the one riding the inner tube would normally have had time to get off if things were going more slowly.
David for wisdom, preferably before
Accident…lets try negligence…
Negligence…a controlled action…I guess he also..accidentally spun donuts too.
He accidentally ignored everyone elses pleas to stop…
Pure controlled by him..NEGLIGENCE
Noone wondering why LEO didn’t know this was going on ?
Donuts and crowds create a lot of commotion.
This guy has to be held accountable for his actions, if not there is no deterrent to keep him from being stupid again. Those who think he shouldn’t be jailed what would you think if it was your relative that was deceased
The reason he kept going was all the clowns with cellphones recording the event for tick tock or facebook likes.
Technology has surpassed our humanity.
Prayers for all.
My heart goes out to both families. In a way they are both losing here. Having raised a couple boys who were stupid behind the wheel when they were young, I know how lucky I am that they are here today. I do not know why young people (not just boys) have to act so stupid. I had a couple male friends growing up who did stupid things that could have killed them, but fortunately it didn’t.
The driver will have to face and accept the consequences for his actions, but I do hope that the courts will recognize these boys were just young and dumb and not malicious.
Praying for both families.
It was young men acting stupid as they tend to do….he should not be charged. The young man wasn’t riding against his will. They were friends.. Have you ever done anything stupid? Prison is not the answer for this young man. My heart goes out to both families.
To all saying he they should not charge him… every one drinking and driving ALL start out innocent fun partying until someone gets hurt. He broke the law and someone was killed. That is the law and actions have consequences… maybe that’s the problem, we let everyone off and they never learn. Just my two cents…
I DO think he needs to serve some time. Someone’s child is dead. Was it an accident? Most likely. However the driver was doing donuts and driving recklessly and nearly hit another person in the parking lot. He was told to slow down by multiple people and still decided to be reckless which caused the death of his friend. Knowing this information I sure as hell wouldn’t want the person responsible for my child’s death to just get off scot-free. He KNEW that what he was doing was dangerous. However I think everyone has done something that they look back on and think “I should have been smarter about that”. Everyone makes mistakes. I don’t think he should be hit with an outrageous sentence but he needs some sort of punishment.
You can see the sadness in this young mans eyes. It is true that young men do not have the development needed to make the best decisions at this age…. this is why ‘parenting is needed’ and at the same time they resist it because society has told them they are grown. I pray these charges will be dropped and mercy shown … as he surely has a life sentence to live already. With depression and anxiety already ramped in our world, this family will be living a constant battle to keep their son ‘living’ …. one way or the other from this tragedy.
Sounds like the KIDS were just having a good time and one got carried away with it.
This happens all the time but rarely is someone seriously injured.
Most times when someone is hurt they go to the emergency room and get patched up and have a hard lesson in life.
No if that kid above was pulling him too fast and the one that died was screaming stop, then there could be a case. Other wise it was boys doing what boys do when they are maturing and learning to deal with all those hormones.
I feel so bad for both families..just kids having fun that ended in tragedy..but I don’t think he should be charged ..
My cousin was in the Air Force and stationed in Korea. He missed waterskiing here in Florida. He built himself a pair of skis and had friends pull him behind a jeep in the snow.
Despite his recklessness, he survived up until COVID-19 some fifty years later.
This reminds me of what could reasonably have happened back then and the time he could have lost.
David for people, even when unwise
Im praying for the family but the other was just as guilty for getting on it. So that being said let’s start charging these kids parents that dies on ATVs for letting them just ride on roads etc. Idk it’s sad this guy is already going to live with it every day for the rest of his life knowing he killed his friend. Praying for both.
I do not know anyone involved in this incident. This is awful. no matter who was involved. But, I bet none of the participants seriously thought of the danger of their actions. Seems like causing this death would be the ultimate punishment. Is more really necessary?
This person Susie clearly never was a teenager.
These kids were playing around and one got hurt IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!! HE DIDNT KNOW HIS FRIEND WOULD DIE!!!!! SHOW SOME PASSION. HES A KID WHO LOST HIS LIFE TOO NOW. IMAGINE WHAT HE REPLAYS IN HIS HEAD EVERYDAY!!!! NO PARENT SHOULD EVER GO THROUGH WHAT EITHER ONE OF THESE BABIES FAMILY HAS TO.
This young man has to live with the fact that he played a part in his friend’s death for the rest of his life. That is a life long punishment. The young man killed & all the friends out there probably never thought that was a possibility! I really feel like these charges are unnecessary (my opinion). They were young adults having fun (doing something they should not have been doing & yeah it was not a wise choice) & a death occurred. Tragic all around! Sad for both families. If this was my son….I would not want his friend to be charged criminally over a freak accident. Hopefully, this will not destroy this young man’s future.
This is why it’s evident that a child’s brain is not fully grown until they are in their mid twenties. Why else would someone do something so ignorant? Blessings to Christian Garner and his family. Parents should never have to bury a child. God bless you.