A Coast Guard petty officer who had been facing charges of dereliction of duty arising from a fatal boating accident in the San Diego Bay last year, can breathe a sigh of relief. Charges against Coast Guard Petty Ofc. Lavelle M Teague have now been dropped.
Teague had been a lookout on the Coast Guard vessel that collided with a recreational boating vessel in the San Diego Bay in December last year. On the boat were a group of Californians watching a parade in the harbor. The boaters were waiting for a fireworks show, when the Coast Guard vessel rammed into the recreational boat. One of the persons on the boat was eight-year-old Anthony DeWeese,. He died in the accident.
Investigations into the boating accident quickly got messy. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that Teague had been sending text messages just before the accident. However, the board retracted its claim later, saying that it had made those conclusions on the basis of wrong time zones. Teague and his three colleagues all face charges, although the ones that Teague faced were the least serious.
Dereliction of duty was the only charge that Teague faced. The other three crew members are all facing serious charges in a military court-martial. Petty Ofc. Third Class Paul Ramos, the pilot of the boat, faces some of the most serious charges. Last month, he was arraigned on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, and negligent homicide among others. His court-martial will begin in February. The Coast Guard crew members allege that their boat had structural deficiencies. They also claim that they were badly trained and suffered from a lack of good leadership.
The maritime attorneys at Maintenance and Cure represent injured maritime workers in maritime and offshore accidents across the globe.
