Coroner: Blunt Force, Drowning Killed Aegean Crew

Blunt-force trauma and drowning killed three of the sailors who perished last weekend in the , according to a San Diego County Coroner's report released Monday.

Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach; William Reed Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance; and Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla., lost their lives in the mysterious Aegean yacht crash. Rudolph died from blunt-force injuries to his head and neck, Johnson from multiple blunt-force injuries, and Stewart drowned, the coroner said.

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Their bodies were recovered by civilian and helicopter crews on Saturday morning in a debris field in the Pacific Ocean, officials said.

The fourth crewman was Redondo Beach resident Theo Mavromatis, the 37-foot Aegean's skipper, according to Ray Pollock of , which rented the boat for Mavromatis. On Sunday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard officials suspended the search for Mavromatis after examining more than 600 square miles.

Though several media outlets reported that the crewmen were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the collision, an official with the U.S. Coast Guard told Patch that the information could not be verified.

“It is required practice to have life vests for everyone on board, but they are not required to wear them at all times,” Henry Dunphy, a Coast Guard spokesman, said Monday. "As far as if they were wearing life jackets when it happened, that cannot be confirmed at this time."

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The investigation into what caused Saturday's deadly crash remained underway Monday. It is believed that the Aegean collided with a larger vessel in the dark of night.

“Investigators are looking into that possibility, but at this point it's pretty much conjecture," Dunphy said.

The Coast Guard is in the process of reviewing the Automated Identification System, which is used to track large ships.

"It lets people track them from shore and shows others vessels on the water," Dunphy explained. "So investigators are looking at the system to see who was in the area at the time as well as talking to others who may have seen something."

Eric Lamb, who was hired to do private safety for the 124 miles of the Lexus Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, was the first person to discover the Aegean's remains and flagged the Coast Guard to the deadly scene.