Fullerton : 2 Men Plead No Contest in 2 Boating Fatalities

Two Northern California men pleaded no contest this week to misdemeanor charges stemming from a boating accident that killed two Oregon State University students, including a 22-year-old Fullerton woman.

Lauri Chiaretta of Fullerton and Thomas Morrish, 22, of Calgary, Canada, died after a boat struck them in Lake Shasta last Memorial Day weekend.

Both students were being towed behind a boat on a water sled. The sled tipped over, and as the boat operator turned the craft, apparently to help, they were run over.

Gary Jones, 32, and Mark Thomas, 30, both of Orangevale, Calif., were accused of involuntary manslaughter. The charges were revised later to failure to report an injury and violations of harbor codes.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 7 in Redding Municipal Court.