The captain of a dive boat that burned off the coast of California in September 2019, resulting in the deaths of 34 sleeping people on board, has been found guilty of criminal negligence by a federal jury.
• Also read: California boat fire: Captain charged with 34 counts of involuntary manslaughter
Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, captain of the Conception, faces a sentence of 10 years in prison when the final verdict is announced on February 8th.
This disaster is the worst maritime disaster in the United States in recent years. Only five crew members, including Mr. Boylan, managed to escape the flames.
“By failing to fulfill his responsibilities as captain of the Conception, Mr. Boylan was responsible for the catastrophic loss of 34 victims who suffered agonizing deaths,” Donald Alway, an FBI agent in Los Angeles, said in a news release from central California quotes Attorney General’s Office.
AFP
The 10-day hearing in a trial that ended Monday brought to light a number of failings by the captain, particularly the fact that he failed to provide a security guard, failed to conduct anti-aircraft drills, failed to conduct anti-aircraft drills, and failed to attempt to deploy firefighting equipment.
Mr Boylan was also accused of being the first to leave the ship while the tourist passengers were still living in the cabins.
A total of 33 passengers and one crew member died in the ill-fated fire on the 22-meter-long ship, which sank while firefighters were still trying to put out the flames near Santa Cruz Island. , about twenty kilometers from Santa Barbara, his home port.
Jerry Boylan was charged under a relatively unused criminal provision specifically for sailors and the like, which exposes them to criminal prosecution in the event of negligence resulting in death.