{"id":83170,"date":"2023-10-24T16:36:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T20:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/captain-faces-decade-behind-bars-after-deadly-california-boat-fire-kills-34-83170"},"modified":"2023-10-24T16:36:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T20:36:58","slug":"captain-faces-decade-behind-bars-after-deadly-california-boat-fire-kills-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/captain-faces-decade-behind-bars-after-deadly-california-boat-fire-kills-34-83170","title":{"rendered":"Captain faces decade behind bars after deadly California boat fire kills 34"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By the time the scuba dive boat sank off the Southern California<\/a> coast after catching fire, 34 people had been killed<\/a> in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.<\/p>\n

The Labor Day tragedy in 2019 spurred changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits. Now four years later, a federal trial for the Conception’s captain, Jerry Boylan, is set to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

It’s been a long, frustrating wait for the families of those who perished. They say a judge’s ruling that their loved ones should not be called “victims” at trial has only added to their pain.<\/p>\n

CALIFORNIA BOAT CAPTAIN IN 2019 FIRE THAT KILLED 34 PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ‘SEAMAN’S MANSLAUGHTER’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The past four years have been like living in a nightmare that you don\u2019t wake up from,” said Kathleen McIlvain, whose 44-year-old son Charles was killed.<\/p>\n

The 75-foot boat was anchored off the Channel Islands, about 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, on Sept. 2, 2019, when it caught fire<\/a> before dawn on the last day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet from shore.<\/p>\n

The National Transportation Safety Board blamed Boylan for the tragedy, saying his failure to post a roving night watchman allowed the fire to quickly spread undetected, trapping the 33 passengers and one crew member below.<\/p>\n

Those on board included a new deckhand who\u2019d landed her dream job and an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica, along with a globe-trotting couple, a Singaporean data scientist, three sisters, their father and his wife.<\/p>\n

CALIFORNIA DIVE BOAT FIRE INVESTIGATORS EXECUTE SEARCH WARRANTS, SEIZE RECORDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge George Wu on Oct. 12 granted Boylan’s request to bar most if not all references to “victims” \u2014 which the captain’s attorneys say is a prejudicial term that jeopardizes his right to a fair trial. It’s the latest setback for the prosecution.<\/p>\n

A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as “seaman\u2019s manslaughter” that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters<\/a>. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison in a conviction, for a total of 340 years.<\/p>\n

Defense lawyers sought to dismiss those charges, arguing the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes. Prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.<\/p>\n

Then in 2022, Wu ruled the superseding indictment failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence, saying that was a required element to prove the crime of seaman\u2019s manslaughter. He dismissed that indictment, forcing prosecutors to go before a grand jury again.<\/p>\n

Boylan is now charged with one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. The single count means he faces only 10 years behind bars if convicted.<\/p>\n

He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. His federal public defenders did not return The Associated Press’ repeated requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Some of the dead were wearing shoes, prompting investigators to believe they were awake and trying to escape. Both exits from the below-deck bunkroom were blocked by flames. Coroner\u2019s reports list smoke inhalation as the cause of death, though official autopsies were never conducted.<\/p>\n

CALIFORNIA DIVE BOAT FIRE WAS ‘FREAK ACCIDENT,’ UNDERWATER CINEMATOGRAPHER SAYS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What exactly started the predawn fire remains unknown. Early official scrutiny appeared to focus on a spot where divers plugged in phones and other electronics. But a Los Angeles Times story, citing a confidential report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the blaze began in a plastic trash can on the main deck though an official cause remains undetermined.<\/p>\n

Boylan and four crew members sleeping in the upper deck told investigators they tried to save the others but were ultimately forced to jump overboard to survive. Boylan made a mayday call at 3:14 a.m. just before abandoning ship.<\/p>\n

Dozens of family members have since formed “Advocacy34” to push for strengthened boating regulations<\/a>. While seeking answers, they\u2019ve comforted each other during loved ones\u2019 missed birthdays and mourned each anniversary.<\/p>\n

“We have no idea when we\u2019ll get those answers, or if we ever will,” McIlvain said.<\/p>\n

At the time of the fire, no owner, operator or charterer had been cited or fined for failure to post a roving patrol since 1991, Coast Guard records showed.<\/p>\n

The NTSB faulted the Coast Guard for not enforcing that requirement and recommended it develop a program to ensure boats with overnight passengers actually have the watchman.<\/p>\n

The Coast Guard has since enacted new regulations regarding fire detection systems, extinguishers, escape routes and other safety measures as mandated by Congress. But it has yet to implement a comprehensive safety management system after industry advocates pushed back, citing costs.<\/p>\n

CALIFORNIA BOAT CREW MEMBERS LACKED EMERGENCY TRAINING, SAW ‘SPARKS’ IN OUTLET BEFORE FIRE THAT KILLED 34: NTSB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Victims’ families have sued the Coast Guard<\/a> in one of several ongoing civil suits.<\/p>\n

Three days after the inferno, Truth Aquatics Inc., which belongs to the Conception\u2019s owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers show they were not at fault.<\/p>\n

The couple’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

In response to the families’ outcry, federal lawmakers<\/a> last year updated the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 so owners can be held liable for damages regardless of the boat\u2019s value afterward.<\/p>\n

The law is not retroactive, however, and will not apply in the case of the Conception.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/captain-faces-decade-behind-bars-deadly-california-boat-fire-kills-34 <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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