Boat captain charged with manslaughter for fire that killed 34
1 month 2 weeks 1 day ago Wednesday, December 02 2020 Dec 2, 2020 December 02, 2020 11:58 AM December 02, 2020 in News
By: WBRZ Staff
According to the BBC News, the captain of a scuba-diving boat that caught on fire while in the waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, California and resulted in the deaths of 34 passengers, is being charged with 34 counts of seaman's manslaughter.
Jerry Nehl Boylan, 67, was the top officer aboard the boat, 'Conception' on September 2, 2019 when a fire broke out, leading to the deaths of all 33 passengers and one crew member who was sleeping below deck, the BBC reports.
Prosecutors blame the devastating results of the fire on Boylan's alleged failure to have a night watchman on duty and failing to conduct fire drill as required by law.
A grand jury cited three federal safety violations: failure to assign a night watch or roving patrol, to conduct sufficient crew training or to conduct adequate fire drills.
Each charge of seaman's manslaughter carries up to 10 years in federal prison.
Boylan and five other crew members managed to escape the blaze with their lives, the BBC notes.
The 67-yer-old is expected to surrender to authorities at a later date.