Holiday tradition marred by recreational maritime accident
One of San Diego’s favorite holiday traditions was marred by a tragic accident that occurred when a U.S. Coast Guard vessel struck a pleasure boat, injuring five people and killing eight-year-old Anthony Cole DeWeese of Rancho Peñasquitos, California.
The incident occurred during the 38th annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, which attracts more than 80,000 spectators each year. According to reports, 13 people aboard a 26-foot Sea Ray had just finished watching fireworks and were waiting for the boat parade to start when they heard a USCG vessel speeding toward them at approximately 30 to 40 knots.
According to witnesses, the 33’ Coast Guard vessel was responding to an emergency call from a grounded boat and was traveling fast with its lights on. The boy’s father, Alan DeWeese, said he tried to maneuver the boat out of harm’s way.
“I thought he was going to turn at some point,” said DeWeese. “He came up so fast, I didn’t have time to react.”
In addition to Anthony DeWesse, who died at UCSD Medical Center about an hour after the incident, two other children suffered minor injuries and were taken to Rady Children’s Hospital. Two adults suffered major trauma and were taken to UCSD Medical Center. Paramedics performed CPR on a third adult before he too was taken to UCSD Medical Center.
According to a Coast Guard spokesman, the Coast Guard, along with a team from the National Transportation Safety Board, will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the tragedy.
“We, along with other agencies: the San Diego Fire Department, the San Diego Harbor Police and the NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation to try to determine what led to this tragedy and what can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future,” said Capt. Tom Farris, the Coast Guard’s San Diego sector commander, in a statement.
The officers aboard the rescue boat have been suspended from active duty pending the result of these investigations.
Most cases involving a maritime injury occurring on navigable waters, including accidents involving recreational boats, are categorized as “maritime law” or “admiralty law” cases. That is because both federal and state courts hearing cases such as this are required to apply maritime law instead of civil law, which most personal injury attorneys practice. Even if maritime laws conflict with state laws, state courts are required to give maritime law precedence under the ‘reverse-Erie doctrine’.
Another significant difference between civil and maritime law is that, with the exception of injuries to seaman protected by the Jones Act, there is no right to trial in maritime cases. In addition, unlike civil cases, a three-year statute of limitations applies to lawsuits that are brought for personal injuries or for death as a result of a maritime tort. Further, there is a two-year statute of limitations for actions brought against the United States under the Suits in Admiralty Act. As such, if the parties injured in this tragedy were to pursue a maritime injury case against the USCG, their attorney might only have two years to prepare and file the case.
It is extremely important, therefore, for persons injured in recreational boating accidents and are considering pursuing negligence claims to consult with a maritime lawyer with a proven track record as soon as possible.
The maritime attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP offer a FREE case evaluation by simply filling out the FREE Case Review form to the right (preferred) or by calling 866-222-2606.
Investigators are looking into a number of factors that may have caused the accident, including the speed of the power boat, lighting conditions, and whether people on the power boat were drinking at the time of the crash. The driver of the boat is said to be one of those who survived the boat accident and officials have confirmed that they will conduct toxicology tests on the driver. 