A dive boat captain pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court for the second time to manslaughter in the burning deaths of 34 people trapped under the deck of his burning vessel three years ago off the coast of the southern California coast.
A federal grand jury issued a new indictment last month alleging Captain Jerry Boylan acted with gross negligence aboard the Conception in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent US history. United. A judge dismissed the original case on the third anniversary of the September 2, 2019 tragedy.
The trial is scheduled for December 20 in the US District Court in Los Angeles.
Boylan faces 10 years in prison if convicted of a single count of misconduct or negligence to a ship’s officer – a pre-Civil War law known as “manslaughter of a sailor” which was designed to hold steamship captains and crew accountable for maritime disasters.
Captain Jerry Boylan pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court for the second time to manslaughter in the fiery deaths of 34 people trapped under the deck of his burning ship three years ago
Boylan faces 10 years in prison if convicted of a single count of misconduct or negligence to a ship’s officer
In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to the fatal boat Conception fire
All 33 passengers and one crew member who were trapped in the Conception’s bunk room died. They died from smoke inhalation.
The 75-foot commercial vessel was anchored in Platts Harbor on the north side of Santa Cruz Island, off Santa Barbara, when a fire broke out around 3 a.m.
Boylan, who frantically radioed for help after he and four crew members sleeping above deck awoke to the fire, was the first man overboard and later told his crew to abandon ship rather than fight the fire, according to the indictment.
He is accused of failing to train his crew, conduct fire drills and post a roving night watchman on the boat when the fire broke out.
Prosecutors brought the second case against Boylan after U.S. District Judge George Wu in September dismissed the original indictment because it failed to mention gross negligence, a required element to prove the crime.
The subsequent indictment alleges that Boylan “acted with a wanton or reckless disregard for human life by engaging in gross negligence, gross negligence, and inattention to his duties.”
Officials blamed the ship’s owners, Truth Aquatics Inc., for a lack of oversight, even though federal safety investigators never found the cause of the fire. The owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, have not been criminally charged.
Captain Jerry Boylan (above) and four crew slept above deck and survived by jumping into the water
Truth Aquatics is seeking to avoid payments to victims’ families under a provision of federal maritime law. Family members of the dead filed lawsuits against the Fritzlers and company, and sued the US Coast Guard.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, alleges the boat violated multiple Coast Guard regulations and the institution failed to quickly identify the issues, resulting in the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member on 2 September 2019.
According to the lawsuit, the Coast Guard cleared Conception to operate after a 2019 inspection, despite the boat having a faulty electrical system and insufficient fire protection.
It was also noted in the lawsuit that Vision, another boat owned by Truth Aquatics, nearly caught fire a year before the Conception fire.
The families’ attorneys say the Coast Guard should have known that Truth Aquatics had “added undocumented and poorly designed electrical outlets throughout the vessel for the purpose of battery charging,” the Orange County Register reported.
Coast Guard records show that fire safety violations on the Conception in 2014 and 2016 were quickly corrected. No anomalies were noted during the inspections in February or August 2018.
Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester speaks to the media outside the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., a day after the Conception Fire
Initially, it was suspected that the fire was caused by a charged lithium battery in a faulty outlet.
Although the cause of the fire was ultimately deemed unknown by the National Transportation Safety Board, Truth Aquatics was found guilty of not having a roving patrol during the night shift, which allowed the fire to spread. worsen while passengers and crew slept.
One of the five crew members who survived the deadly Conception fire, Ryan Sims, said the boat was unseaworthy in a lawsuit against Truth Aquatics and the scuba diving company who had chartered it, Worldwide Diving Adventures in September 2020.
Sims broke his leg in three parts trying to escape the fire.
Family members of those who perished at sea have come forward for Boylan’s arraignment and say it has been a difficult three years to hold to account.
“It has been a long journey, a very difficult journey. And learning to live with grief is very difficult,” said Susana Solano Rosas, who lost three daughters in the fire.
“Today means hopefully we can see some justice. … The court will go ahead and try this man, try this captain who allowed our 34 to be killed and burned on this boat.
