Man who drowned in San Jacinto River boat crash identified

The man who drowned in the San Jacinto River after being thrown from a boat during an allegedly drunken crash has been identified, according to medical examiner records.

Luis Gonzalez, 33, vanished in the water as the pleasure craft he was on careened into a retaining wall near Rio Villa Drive and Sandbridge Court along the east Harris County river. His body was found Tuesday

Charges of murder and intoxication assault are pending against the man who was behind the wheel of the boat Gonzalez was riding on during the Sunday night joy ride. The driver, Galan Ruiz, remains hospitalized after suffering severe leg trauma in the crash outside two homes near Sandbridge Court and Rio Villa Drive, according to prosecutors.

Another passenger, Ruiz’s girlfriend, was also injured in the wreck.

Prosecutors said Ruiz and his passengers were drinking on a nearby beach in the hours before the crash. Beer cans were found in the wreckage on Monday when authorities pulled the boat from the water.

Gonzalez died of what medical examiner officials described as “drowning and blunt force injuries.”