Wednesday 10 August 2022 05:19 PM College freshman, 19, was 'pushed overboard boat into lake by girlfriend before ... trends now
Five Texas college students are facing criminal charges following the 2019 death of a Texas Christian University freshman, after one allegedly pushed him off a boat while flirting.
A witness claims she saw Jack Elliot fall from the bow of a 22-foot boat after Delaney Brennan, 21, pushed him while flirting out on the waters of Lake Travis, a manmade lake, northwest of Austin, in October 2019.
Delaney and Jack, 19, had been kissing when she gave him a 'playful shove' that left him overboard before hitting a propeller and drowning in the water.
But teens who were present on the boat attempted to conceal the truth - before the circumstances were revealed in a wrongful death lawsuit launched by Elliot's grieving family in 2020.
'Delaney and Jack were at the front of the boat, flirting and kissing. She gave Jack a 'playful little shove' and he fell off the boat,' Elle Weber, another teen on the boat, detailed in a sworn statement.
Mystery has surround the circumstances of how he came to end up in the water after the teens who were present on the boat allegedly concocted a story to coverup the truth from authorities.
'I was scared and in shock about what happened. I wish it had not happened and I wish I'd told police everything the first time,' Weber said.
She recalled how following the accident panic ensued with Delaney stating: 'He fell! I didn't mean to push him!'
Jack Elliott, 19, a Texas Christian University freshman was allegedly pushed off a boat while out on a lake near Austin in October 2019. He was struck by the boat's propellor and died
Following the accident panic ensued with Delaney stating: 'He fell! I didn't mean to push him!'
Delaney Brennan (far left) allegedly pushed Jack (far right) into the water while flirting with him at the front of a boat in October 2019
Jack, who was 19 at the time, had been partying and drinking together with 11 other teens on the waters of Lake Travis, a manmade lake, northwest of Austin.
Jack, who was 19 at the time of the tragedy, was one of 12 teens from the university who were enjoying an afternoon of drinking and wakeboarding while on the Texas Lake.
Some details emerged after the Elliot family filed a wrongful death suit in January 2020 against some of the teens onboard in hopes it would get them to tell the truth about the incident.
In her own deposition, Delaney revealed how she had tattooed Jack's initials onto her wrist.
'I did that because I wanted to always have something to remember him by. When I looked down I wanted to remember how much he loved life and it kind of gave me a reminder to always live my life to the fullest and to do everything in life to basically live up to what he would have done.'
Posting onto social media, she wrote: 'I'm still messed up from this and my parents are here with me now, but we don't know much still. I just feel like guilty … and I don't think I have ever been this sad. I was the last person to touch him.'
Following Jack's death in October 2019, Brennan posted a tribute to him on her Instagram.
'Jack Elliot was one of the best people I've ever met,' Brennan wrote. 'He never failed to put a smile on my face, no matter the situation, and after only being best friends with him for two months, we formed such a special bond/friendship that I will cherish forever.'
She continued, 'I love you endlessly with my whole heart and miss you so so so much.'
Brennan is a Fashion Merchandising Major and General Business Minor at Texas Christian University, according to her LinkedIn page.
The boating expedition in 2019 was led by Carson Neel whose dad, Billy, ran the Northshore Marina.
At the time, Carson told everyone where the life jackets were stowed but gave no further safety instructions to his friends, according to the OC Register.
The group spent their sunny fall afternoon drinking and dancing on the deck of the boat while occasionally dipping into the water for a swim or to go wake boarding.
When the boat ran out of beer, they sailed back to the marina to fetch another case before venturing out onto the water once again.
But about an hour-and-a-half after sunset, the boat shook as it appeared to rumble over something. Jack, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found onboard.
Carson turned the boat back and headed towards the spot where he believed Jack might have gone overboard.
In the panic, those onboard shone the lights from their cellphones into the water in desperate hope of finding Jack.
'A lot of people were freaking out and crying and not communicating well,' Carson said in a sworn affidavit seen by the OC Register. 'I tried to stay as calm as possible because I knew it was serious and freaking out would make it worse.'
Carson dived into the lake and checked the boats propeller as he searched for Jack.
With no sign of him, five minutes later, the group decided to head back
