The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire, resulting in the deaths of 34 people in 2019, was convicted of gross negligence on Monday.
A scuba dive boat captain was convicted of gross negligence on Monday after a vessel he was commanding in California in 2019 caught fire, resulting in the deaths of 34 people, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, according to The Associated Press.
Jerry Boylan, 69, was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.
Boylan was in command of the Conception when it caught fire before dawn on Sept. 2, 2019, while it was anchored off Santa Cruz Island. It was on the final day of a three-day excursion when tragedy struck.
The Labor Day fire trapped 33 passengers and a crew member in a windowless bunk room below deck as the stairs and the escape hatch were blocked by flames.
Prosecutors said Boylan, who had been a boat captain for 34 years, was negligent in failing to appoint a roving night watch or train his crew in fire safety, according to The Los Angeles Times.
