The driver of a boat involved in a fatal crash with a barge on the Hudson River now faces an 18-count indictment including two counts each of vehicular manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The July 26 boating accident killed a bride-to-be and her future groom’s best man, and injured 4 others including the boat driver and the groom-to-be.
Authorities say the driver of the boat was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he got behind the helm of a 19-foot Stingray and struck a Tappan Zee Bridge reconstruction project barge. His blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent, nearly double the legal limit, and he had cocaine in his system at the time of accident, according to authorities.
The Rockland County District Attorney vows to aggressively prosecute the case to ensure that justice is served. Defense attorneys are challenging the toxicology results and say they have physical evidence and witness testimony which support their claim that poor and inadequate barge lighting is to blame for the crash.
Some family members of the deceased feel that the District Attorney’s investigation was misguided and should have focused more on the owners and operators of the barges. They say bridge contractors had previously been warned that boaters in the vicinity at night could not see the barges. According to the Coast Guard, the barge lighting met federal standards; however, more lighting was added by the contractors the day after the accident.
A person charged with serious DWI-related offenses arising from an event where someone was killed is exposed to the potential criminal penalty of imprisonment and the loss of driving privileges. A DWI attorney might be able to mount an aggressive DWI defense to obtain the best outcome available through the criminal justice system.
Source: CBS New York, “Hudson River Crash Was Drunk“, November 07, 2013
