Boat wreck trial set for Calif. Coast Guard driver

[March 07, 2011]  ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- Alan DeWeese vividly remembers the moments before a Coast Guard vessel thundered atop his 26-foot boat, killing his 8-year-old son and injuring five of his other passengers during a Christmas parade in San Diego.

"I could tell that they had no clue that we were even in the water," DeWeese told National Transportation Safety Board investigators, according to a transcript released last month.

DeWeese is expected to recount the tragedy again, this time at a court-martial for Petty Officer Paul Ramos, the driver of the Coast Guard vessel. Opening statements are expected Monday at Coast Guard district headquarters in Alameda.

Ramos pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, aggravated assault, hazarding a vessel and dereliction of duty. The most serious charge -- involuntary manslaughter -- carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in the brig. The other charges carry prison terms ranging from three months to five years.

A jury of seven Coast Guard members is scheduled to hear evidence through March 25.

Ramos was responding to a report of a boat stuck in mud when he took off into crowded San Diego Bay on Dec. 20, 2009, at the annual Parade of Lights festival, a city tradition featuring boats festooned with lights.

DeWeese, who was hosting two other families, said the Coast Guard vessel came at him at an estimated 30 to 40 knots -- or 35 to 46 mph -- after a fireworks display.

One Coast Guard crew member estimated the Coast Guard boat was going 20 to 25 knots, according to an NTSB transcript.

DeWeese said he hit the throttle and turned right, but it was too late. After the boat struck, he found two of his sons safe. He came across 8-year-old Anthony face-down in a pile of life jackets, "not moving, not conscious, just in a weird position."

"We knew something bad," DeWeese told investigators.

The NTSB, which has released more than 4,000 pages of documents, has not said what caused the crash.

Mike Neil, an attorney for the DeWeese family, said the Coast Guard vessel is designed for high seas -- not congested areas -- because the bow rises when it picks up speed, blocking the driver's view.

"This boat should never have been used under these circumstances," said Neil, who represents the DeWeeses in a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government. "There's going to be another accident."

Ramos, who refused to speak with NTSB investigators, said at a preliminary hearing last year that he thinks about the dead boy every night.

Ian Howell, the highest-ranking member of the patrol boat crew, faces a court-martial in May on charges of negligent homicide, assault, negligence with a boat and dereliction of duty. He pleaded not guilty.

There were three other crew members. Brittany Rasmussen was reprimanded but avoided time in the brig after pleading guilty to dereliction of duty in military court.

The Coast Guard dropped a charge of dereliction of duty against Lavelle Teague. Jarett Koelmel was never charged.

[Associated Press]

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