Originally Posted - August 17, 2006




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Warren County DA Issues Subpoenas In Ethan Allen Probe

LAKE GEORGE---Yet another investigation has been initiated into the deaths of 20 senior citizens last fall when the tour boat Ethan Allen capsized and sank in Lake George.

Warren County district attorney Kate Hogan has stated that she has issued grand jury subpoenas in order to obtain reports concerning the boating tragedy. She said that she has been interviewing witnesses and subpoenaing records that she needs to decide whether she will empanel a grand jury.

Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final eport of its investigation, concluding that the probable cause of the accident was the tour boat's insufficient stability, a sharp turn undertaken by the captain and the resulting involuntary shift of passengers to the port side of the vessel.

The NTSB said the stability of the 40-foot tour boat was insufficient because it was carrying four times the alleged passenger weight it should have been. The boat carried 48 persons where post-accident stability calculations demonstrated that it should have been permitted to carry only 14 persons. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the failure to reassess the vessel's stability after it had been modified because there was no clear requirement to do so, NTSB officials said.

In early February, the Warren County Sheriff's Department issued a three volume, 530-age report determining that no criminal charges would be brought by the department.

Hogan had been awaiting the NTSB report before decided whether or not to convene a Grand Jury to determine if criminal negligence contributed to or caused the accident.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed as a result of the accident with the boat's owner, Shoreline Cruises Inc. of Lake George and boat captain Richard Paris claiming that the accident was an "act of God" which could not have been prevented. Other defendants named are the Lake George Steamboat Company which owns the Mohican which Paris said caused a wake that contributed to the capsizing of the Ethan Allen, Scarano Boat Building of Albany which performed modifications on the boat, Shoreline Tours Inc. of Canada, the tour group's organizer, the Coast Guard; the boat engine manufacturer, Cummins Mercruiser Diesel Marine LLC and pump maker, Hypro LLC.

Civil actions filed in the case claim that the Ethan Allen was improperly designed and operated, overcrowded, unstable and understaffed.

A federal judge has consolidated all of the actions.

Shoreline was cited by the state for failing to provide the proper number of crew members. State regulations require two crew members for commercial vessels carrying 21 to 48 passengers. Paris was the only one on board.

Shoreline's insurance carrier, Global Property Owners Association of Plantation, Fla., says that Shoreline carried only a commercial general liability policy which was limited to claims occurring on land.

James Quirk, owner of Shoreline, says that he was led to believe and paid for marine liability insurance. That matter is also investigation for the insurance departments in New York, Florida and Texas.

For a review of The North Country Gazette's extensive continuing coverage of the Ethan Allen boating tragedy and Cleveland's precarious political and professional future, visit the sitemap and enter a search for Ethan Allen, Lake George boating accident and/or Larry Cleveland. 8-17-06

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© 2006 North Country Gazette


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All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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