A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed a criminal
indictment against the captain of dive boat Conception. Jerry Nehl Boylan had
been charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel
caught fire and sank off the southern California coast three years ago.
The 75-footer caught fire while most of those onboard
were sleeping down below, killing 33 passengers and a crew member.
US District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the
indictment, handed down in December 2020 by a federal grand jury, had to be
thrown out because prosecutors had failed to accuse him of gross negligence.
The US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said prosecutors
would seek authorization from the Department of Justice to appeal against the
ruling.
The indictment accused Boylan of causing the deaths
through “misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties.”
The US District Court grand jury had cited three federal
safety violations – failure to assign a night watch or roving patrol aboard the
boat, failure to conduct sufficient crew training and failure to conduct
adequate fire drills.
The five surviving crew members, including Boylan, had
been above deck in berths behind the wheelhouse and escaped by leaping
overboard as the burning boat sank into the Pacific. A coroner’s
investigators determined that the victims died of smoke inhalation
