Publishing Executive Dies in Boat Collision off Italy’s Coast Prompting Investigation

The skipper on the Bloomsbury executive's boat reportedly tested positive for substance use

The CEO of the U.S. branch of publication company Bloomsbury has died in a boating accident off the coast of Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

Adrienne Vaughan, 45, who became the president of the publishing house in 2021, had been at sea with her husband and two children on a 9-meter speedboat, when it collided with a larger 45-meter boat dubbed the Tortuga, according to The Guardian and CNN.

The Guardian reported that the crash caused Vaughan to fall overboard where she was struck by the boat’s propeller. She was pulled out of the water onto a dock, but by the time emergency crews arrived, she was pronounced dead at the scene, per Associated Press.

Bloomsbury’s board chair, Julia Reidhead and president and CEO, Maria A. Pallante confirmed Vaughan’s death to AP in a joint statement calling her “a leader of dazzling talent and infectious passion.”

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“[Vaughan] had a deep commitment to authors and readers,” they said. “Most of all she was an extraordinary human being, and those of us who had the opportunity to work with her will be forever fortunate.”

Although Vaughan's two children did not sustain any injuries, her husband was taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury.

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Italian prosecutors in the city of Salerno, a port city located southeast of Naples, have launched an investigation into her death, The Guardian reported.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that the blood test for the skipper on Vaughan’s boat — who also was injured — came back positive for substance abuse, per the outlet.

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The substance he had tested positive for was related to alcohol, Marinella Guglielmotti, the public prosecutor of Salerno, confirmed to CNN. She said initial toxicology reports also showed that the skipper had a higher alcohol blood limit than the legal amount.

She added that the captain of the Tortuga tested negative for substances and was not a part of the investigation, adding that none of the over 80 passengers aboard the sailboat were injured.

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