Boat-Crash Driver Knew O.C. Family

The Maywood boat builder arrested in a fatal hit-and-run accident on the Colorado River over the weekend knew the victims’ family socially and had hoped to sell them a boat, a lawyer representing the family said Monday.

At a court hearing Monday in Parker, La Paz County Justice of the Peace John Drum ordered Grier D. Rush, 62, to appear Oct. 2 to enter a plea. Drum also ordered Rush to have no contact with the victims’ family if he is able to post the $1 million bail. The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. Friday when Rush’s speedboat collided with another carrying four young people from Orange County.

Three died at the scene: Jonathan Herbert, 21, and his sister Jacquel Herbert, 18, both of Laguna Hills; and Jacquel Herbert’s best friend, Ashley Rollins, 18, of Mission Viejo. Jacquel Herbert’s boyfriend, Josh Rogers, 18, also of Mission Viejo, was injured and reported in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital.

Rush, who owns Rush Marine Performance Boats in Maywood, was charged with fleeing the scene of a fatal boat accident.

Wayne and Jana Herbert, parents of two of the victims, clung to each other during Monday’s hearing. Their attorney, Michael S. Sutton of Mission Viejo, said Rush and Wayne Herbert know each other socially through boating circles, and Rush had been making a sales pitch to Herbert for one of his boats during the informal regatta that river boating enthusiasts hold at this time each year to mark the end of summer.

Both men and their families had been vacationing at the river for about a week at the time of the crash.

“As you can imagine, [the Herberts] are just devastated at the loss of both of their children. It’s a very, very difficult time for the family,” Sutton said. The couple, who own a vacation home at Lake Havasu, 30 miles north of here, declined to speak to reporters.

After the court hearing, they were driven to a nearby maintenance yard where both boats are stored while authorities investigate. The couple looked at the craft in silence. The Herberts’ 18-foot boat is intact, as is Rush’s 20-footboat. La Paz County sheriff’s investigators said both are V-Drive high-power runabouts.

Sheriff’s supervising Sgt. Alan Nelson said investigators are interviewing witnesses and attempting to reconstruct events to determine who was at fault. Investigators have not said if they believe speed or alcohol were factors.

“Whose boat ran over whose boat -- that’s always the issue in these types of accidents,” said prosecutor R. Glenn Buckelew, La Paz County Attorney in Parker. Without skid marks or other evidence common in auto accidents, “we end up relying heavily on eyewitnesses.”

One of those, retired Hawthorne fire Capt. Bob Guy, said he saw the crash from his waterfront patio. He said the Herberts’ boat was turning around to head upriver when it was broadsided by Rush’s boat. Guy said it appeared that Rush attempted to slow down and steer around the other boat before they hit.

Guy said Rush’s boat flew over the Herberts’ boat, hitting the four occupants.

“It looked like [Rush] tried to avoid them. Had he gone any further [in attempting to avoid the collision] he probably would’ve hit the dock,” said Guy, who also owns a home in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon.

Authorities said Rush fled after the accident. Deputies found his boat on a trailer hitched to a vehicle at the dock, but there was no sign of Rush. Rescuers believed at first that he was missing in the water because they could not locate him, said Buckelew. Investigators learned that Rush was alive and in California on Saturday, when his attorney, Ron Cordova, called them to announce that Rush would surrender the following day.

Sandy Bush, an owner of the Red Rock Resort -- an RV campground where Rush and the Herberts were staying -- said Rush had been a regular this summer. This was the first time she had seen the Herberts, she said.

“People know [Rush] because he builds boats. He’s a nice man. He’s been boating a long time,” said Bush.

Robert Rollins, the 23-year-old brother of victim Ashley Rollins, said he heard of the accident as he was putting away his own family’s boat. He then began crying when he said a friend returned minutes later to tell him Ashley had been injured in the accident. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said softly.

His sister, a Saddleback College student and part-time sales clerk at a Sav-On drug store, turned in her homework early and left last Tuesday with her family for Lake Havasu, where she met Jonathan and Jacquel Herbert, with whom she had been friends since childhood.

Rollins said he was angry over Rush’s decision to flee.

“You can’t just go over these kids and run away. He’s evil,” said Rollins.

Bobbi Ryan, Ashley Rollins’ aunt, said the family is attempting to cope with her niece’s death.

“You’d think that a 62-year-old man would be more responsible,” said Ryan. “It is a tremendous loss. It is devastating and to hear that this man fled, I was so angry.”

At the Herberts’ two-story hillside home in Laguna Hills, flowers, candles and framed photographs formed a cross on the brick driveway.

Some photos were of Jonathan and Jacquel Herbert and friends on happier outings to the Colorado River.

The family enjoyed going to the river, said neighbor Lonnie Kay. “They always did everything together. Their children were their best friends. I don’t know how you could deal with losing one child. But losing both -- I just don’t know,” he said.

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Times staff writers H.G. Reza and Eric Malnic contributed to this story.