Why wasn’t Duck Boat captain charged in deadly accident?

The pilot of a tugboat that ran over a sightseeing boat in the Delaware River was recently sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

According to a Philadelphia news website, some of their readers have asked why pilot Matthew Devlin was the only person charged in the accident.

Two Hungarian tourists were killed in the collision on July 7, 2010.

Devlin pled guilty to a maritime charge equivalent to involuntary manslaughter and begins serving his sentence Jan. 5.

Devlin admitted being distracted from using a cell phone and texting for an extended time period before the collision as well as failing to maintain a proper lookout and piloting the vessel from the lower wheelhouse which had diminished visibility.

Some want to know why tour boat Capt. Gary Fox wasn’t charged even though he anchored the vessel inside the shipping lane when he thought there was a fire which turned out to be engine steam.

The federal prosecutor and the judge said the answer had to do with relative negligence regarding which party could have avoided the accident.

Asst. U.S. Attorney Robert Zauzmer argued that the tug and tow was significantly more maneuverable than the disabled tour boat and Devlin had six minutes and one nautical mile notice to change the outcome. But Devlin was unaware of the oncoming disaster because he was down below with the radio volume turned down as he communicated with his wife about the condition of their critically ill 5-year-old son.

Zauzmer acknowledged that mistakes were made aboard the tour boat including the failure of a mechanic to secure a surge-tank pressure cap that released steam from the engine as well as Fox’s failure to immediately notify the Coast Guard that he was stranded in the channel.

Source: Philly.com