The Nation - News from Dec. 16, 1986

Griffin O’Neal, 22, son of actor Ryan O’Neal, went on trial on manslaughter and reckless driving charges in the accidental death of Gian Carlo Coppola, 23, son of film director Francis Ford Coppola. O’Neal’s attorney told the circuit judge trying the case in Annapolis, Md., that his client’s “hysteria” just after the tragedy had caused him to deny that he was driving the rented boat carrying the two men on Chesapeake Bay on May 26. Coppola was killed when the boat struck a tow line between two other vessels. If convicted, O’Neal could receive a five-year jail term.