Tug owner blaming fishermen for their own deaths in TN accident

Serodino Inc. filed court papers in U.S. District Court to limit civil damages in a potential lawsuit over one of its tugs involved in a fatal accident in Tennessee last summer.

The Chattanooga-based company owns the Bearcat which collided with a fishing boat June 19 on Chickamauga Lake.

Court records indicate that the company seeks to limit damages to $1.1 million, the  value of the empty vessel without cargo.

Richard Wilkey, 52, of Soddy-Daisy, TN, and Tim Spidle, 45, of Elizabethton, TN, died in the June 19 accident. David "Christopher" Wilkey, a third fisherman, survived.

The tug owner denies responsibility and filed the papers December 17 stating that the deaths were "not caused or contributed to by any fault or neglect of Serodino."

An attorney for the Wilkey family disagrees.

"We believe Serodino's responsible," he said.

The fishermen were within a navigation channel as the tug and barge formation—647-feet long—moved toward them at 5 mph, stated a preliminary report. Survivor Wilkey told investigators that the group did not notice the tub and barge until they approached to within 300 feet. He said their engine stalled and recalled one of his group saying to “jump for it.”

The Coast Guard is investigating whether there was a required lookout on the barge at the time of the accident.  The tugboat did not stop after the collision, reports say.

State officials are having discussions with the Hamilton County (TN) State’s Attorney’s Office about whether to file criminal charges against Serodino as the investigation is expected to take several more weeks.

The same tugboat was involved in a previous collision in 2009 that killed a North Carolina man. In that case, Serodino also denied fault.

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press