The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges for one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history.
Jerry Boylan was charged with 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter for “misconduct, negligence and inattention” by failing to train his crew, conduct fire drills and have a roving night watchman on the Conception when fire broke out Sept. 2, 2019.
Boylan and four other crew members, who had all been sleeping, escaped from the flaming boat after he made a breathless mayday call. All 33 passengers and one crew member perished in the bunkroom.
The rare federal charges against Boylan were brought under a pre-Civil War law aimed at holding steamboat captains and crew responsible for watery disasters that were far more frequent at the time.
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The Monterey County District Attorney's Office reports that a dismissal hearing has been scheduled for an 18-year-old accused of causing a deadly crash while under the influence.
The case against the driver, Jacques Clarke, is set to be dismissed due to newly discovered evidence, but county attorneys would not give more details.
The crash happened in December in Salinas. In court, Clarke pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him. The dismissal hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
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Parts of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel are now listed as dangerous fire areas. That’s based on a university study of high risk fire areas around California. The interactive map of high-risk areas was first published by U.C.L.A. late last year. It can be viewed at gis.ucla.edu/blog//fire-hazard-every-building-in-california-interactive-map
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The names of 2 people, who died in a crash in Salinas recently have been made public. 20 year-old driver, Osvaldo Garcia, and his 24 year-old passenger Daniella Perez, were the 9th and 10th people to die in a vehicle accident in Salinas this year. That accident was on East Alisal Street near Front Street.
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