Tour Boat Sinks in Lake George, 19 Die
(Lake George, New York) Dozens of senior citizens were onboard a 40-foot Shoreline Cruises tour boat when it flipped over on Lake George, about 50 miles north of Albany. The
weather was clear, with the temperature in the 70s. Eyewitnesses say the glass-enclosed boat sank.
From PostStar.com:
Nineteen people were killed in a tour boat accident on Lake George today, according to Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland.
The Ethan Allen, a small cruise boat on the lake, was carrying 47 passengers this afternoon when the accident happened about 3 p.m. today.
According to Cleveland, the wake from the Mohican, a boat owned by Lake George Steamboat Company, swamped and flipped the glass-enclosed Ethan Allen.
The Glens Falls hospital declared a Code Yellow disaster alert to handle the injured. As of 5pm EDT, all passengers had been accounted for.
[Update 2030EDT]
Twenty-one people are now listed as having died when the Ethan Allen sank in approximately 70 feet of water. The only crew member onboard, Captain Richard Paris, survived. The estimated number of passengers was increased to 49 and it's reported that none pulled from the water were wearing life vests. Also, since those onboard were senior citizens, a number were in wheelchairs or required walkers.
The incident occurred about 200 yards from shore. An unconfirmed report states that it capsized after it hit the wake of a larger cruise boat. In my opinion, before this tragedy is history, some serious liability will be assigned for negligence or malfeasance.
Companion at Interested-Participant.
Posted by: Mike Pechar at
05:00 PM
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1
The
Times Union of Albany has more. Apparently the death toll is now 21 and the police are looking at whether the wake from another boat may have contributed to the boat sinking/capsizing.
Posted by: lawhawk at October 02, 2005 06:12 PM (RGP9x)
2
Looks like more of Bush's
Social Security Reform. First the bus in Texas, now this. He's a sick bastard.
Posted by: Preston Taylor Holmes at October 02, 2005 09:08 PM (Ad2vx)
3
Indeed he is, but this was the work of '
Chaos
In
America'-terrorist organisation, which has 0wn3d your country since WW2, only struggling for power during short times of Democratic presidency.
Posted by: A Finn at October 03, 2005 03:15 AM (lGolT)
4
47 passengers and a crew on a 40' boat. A lot depends on the with of the boat and what is above the water line. I have a 35' and 13.5 ft wide. I would never allow more than 15 on board and all weight is below waterline.
It was said that many of these people were in wheel chairs. I seen a picture the boat. It had a solid top about 8' above the deck.
Scenario: Another boat causes wake to strike side of boat. This causes boat to lean sharply to opposite side. Old folks slide or fall to opposite side. Solid top on boat leans to opposite side. Captain turns wheel to opposite side as he holds on. Side of boat takes in water and its all she wrote.
I seen this exact thing happen at the mouth of the Mississippi river two years ago. The boat was a 26' with 6 on board and a heavy t-top. All it takes is a large wake striking at the right angle.
50 people spaced properly on a 40' boat is okay. 50 people on one side of the boat is sucide. A shame.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 03, 2005 02:47 PM (ywZa8)
5
A caller to a Syracuse radio show today said that he had served on a jury some years ago to hear a suit from an elderly man who had slipped and broken his hip on an Alexandria Bay area (St. Lawrence Seaway/Thousand Islands region) tour boat.
The attorney for the the defendant cited an 1898 New York State law that capped liability at
the value of the tour boat. That means that the families of the Lake George victims might only be entitled to the same, probably only $150 grand or so, at most, if the law applies in this case.
Posted by: The Dread Pundit Bluto at October 03, 2005 06:50 PM (RHG+K)
6
Insurance company will say they were already old and at the end of their usefull lives. So any award will be small.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 05, 2005 06:20 AM (ywZa8)
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