O’Neal Fined $200 in Death of Friend on Boat

Griffin O’Neal, son of actor Ryan O’Neal, was fined $200 and placed on 18 months’ probation Friday for a boating accident that killed the son of director Francis Ford Coppola.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Martin Wolff set a stringent list of conditions for probation and told O’Neal that he would impose a 30-day suspended jail term if he violated any of them.

Under the conditions, O’Neal will be required to submit to periodic drug testing, will have to attend school or work and will have to perform more than 400 hours of community service.

‘History of Lying’

Wolff said he had found nothing good about O’Neal in the reports given to him.

“You have a history of lying, with little respect for others,” the judge told the 22-year-old defendant. Wolff said he hoped the probation period will allow O’Neal to get his life in order.

O’Neal was convicted Dec. 19 of negligent operation of a boat. The judge found him not guilty of a charge of boat manslaughter.

O’Neal was driving a rented 14-foot runabout on the crowded South River near Annapolis last Memorial Day when it struck a tow line connecting two sailboats.

Gian-Carlo Coppola, 23, was hit by the rope and thrown onto the deck of the aluminum boat. He died of massive head injuries.