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John H.[_5_] John H.[_5_] is offline
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Default Strange Case

From the recent Boat US emailing.

A Strange Case of Justice
By Bob Adriance

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on April 29, 2006, five friends on a 27’ O’Day
were sailing toward their marina on California’s Clear Lake. It was an
almost moonless night, very dark, with barely a hint of wind. The sailboat
was ghosting through the water when a 385 hp, 24’ Baja Outlaw with three
people aboard sped through the darkness and struck the sailboat’s starboard
stern quarter.

According to forensic experts, the Baja ramped over the sailboat and
crushed the cabin bulkhead, leaving prop marks in the deck. Much of the
sailboat’s cabin top was torn off and its aluminum mast was sheared
completely off at the base. The Baja exited on the port bow. Although the
O’Day had rolled heavily to starboard and taken on water, both boats
remained afloat. All five people on the sailboat suffered injuries, ranging
from cuts and bruises to broken ribs and concussions. A 51-year-old woman,
Lyn Thornton, who was the fiancée of the boat’s owner, Mark Weber, died a
few days later from her injuries. The sailboat was insured through the
BoatU.S. Marine Insurance program.

After a brief investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department,
39-year-old Bismark Dinius, who had been at the helm of the sailboat, was
charged with manslaughter and faces up to four years in jail. The driver
of the powerboat, Deputy Sheriff Russell Perdock, was not charged. Perdock
is the number two official at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

If you think there’s a story here, you’re right. And the story is still
unfolding.

More at"

http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/justice.asp
--
** Good Day! **

John H