Driver who towed Pensacola teen in inner tube will face manslaughter charges in his death

*Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the accused's attorney.

A Pensacola man is facing manslaughter charges in the death of a teen he was towing in an inner tube tied to the back of his pickup truck.

Joseph Brooks Squirewell, 20, was arrested Thursday and charged with culpable-negligence manslaughter in connection to the death of 18-year-old Christian Garner.

The incident in which Garner lost his life occurred at about 7:30 p.m. April 30 near Community Maritime Park in and around a retention pond front of the Blue Wahoos Stadium near downtown Pensacola, according to an arrest report.

Squirewell was allegedly pulling an inner tube with Garner inside through the retention pond using his truck, and Garner was killed when the inner tube left the pond and hit an embankment.

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Pensacola Police Department spokesman Officer Mike Wood said Squirewell turned himself into authorities Thursday night after learning charges had been filed and a warrant had been written calling for his arrest.

County records indicated Squirewell was booked into the Escambia County Jail with a $25,000 bond at 6:26 p.m. Thursday and was released from custody approximately 15 minutes later.

James Cromey, Squirewell's attorney, sent an emailed statement to the News Journal saying, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian's family. We recognize that this event was tragic. However, we believe in our client's innocence. We do not believe that his conduct meets the legal definition of culpable negligence and intend on fighting the charge."

During the incident April 30, security cameras at Community Maritime Park and City Hall captured images of Squirewell driving his Ford Ranger pickup truck "in a manner which he knew to be reckless and likely to cause serious bodily harm or death and actually resulted in the death of Christian Garner."

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Squirewell's actions included performing "donuts" and almost running over a person in a parking lot, the report stated.

"A passenger inside the truck when (Squirewell) did a donut, stated, (Squirewell) looked at her and said, 'have you ever seen my truck do this?' then proceeded to slide his truck through the parking lot," the report said. "It should be noted, it appeared he almost ran over a person and that person had to dodge (Squirewell's) truck sliding through the parking lot."

Detectives later observed Squirewell's pickup truck reverse to the edge of the roadway adjacent to the retention pond, and Garner walked into the water with an inflatable inner tube that was attached to the rear of the truck.

Squirewell allegedly accelerated his pickup truck forward, pulling the inner tube through the water, out of the water, up a nearby embankment and into a parking lot.

"The truck appeared to rapidly accelerate and continue to do so beyond a point in which the inner tube was pulled from the water," the report stated. "It appeared as though Garner was thrown from the inner tube as it left the water and collided with the grass embankment."

Garner suffered trauma to his head and neck and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"It was consistent and clear that many people warned (Squirewell), and he was aware of the dangers associated with this act and he ignored those warnings," the report stated. "(Squirewell) was told numerous times by multiple people that he needed to drive slowly and be cautious, due to the embankment and the parking lot."

Cromley, Squirewell's attorney, challenged law enforcement's narrative in the statement he sent to the News Journal.

"We dispute the allegation that Joseph was driving recklessly. To be clear, alcohol and drugs were not involved. This wasn't Joseph's idea. It wasn't Joseph's inner tube. Joseph didn't tie the inner tube to the truck. Christian was Joseph's friend, and Joseph ran to Christian's side and tried to help him. That cannot be said for some who were there, encouraging this, filming it for their social media feeds, and who fled the scene before first responders arrived. Among those people who fled were the ones in the bed of the truck when this happened. Again, our hearts go out to Christian's family, but we do not believe the charge against Joseph is appropriate."

Squirewell is next scheduled to appear in court for a May 27 arraignment.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola man told to slow down before killing teen on inner tube: PPD