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LAKE GEORGE---A Warren County Grand Jury will hear evidence concerning the capsizing of the Ethan Allen tour boat on Lake George last October which resulted in the deaths of 20 elderly passengers who were from Michigan and Ohio.
Warren County district attorney Kate Hogan has reportedly decided to impanel a Grand Jury to decide if criminal charges are warranted against any of the parties involved in the boating tragedy which occurred during a one hour fall foliage tour along the Lake George shoreline.
The boat was owned by Shoreline Cruises of Lake George.
Although Hogan has declined to discuss the matter, it has been reported that a Grand Jury will begin receiving testimony in the case in December.
By law, Grand Jury proceedings are confidential. Witnesses can be subpoenaed to appear before the panel.
Grand Jury proceedings are addressed in Article 190 of New York State statutes. A grand jury is a body consisting of not less than 16 nor more than 23 persons, impaneled to hear and examine evidence concerning offenses and concerning misconduct, nonfeasance and neglect in public office, whether criminal or otherwise, and to take action with respect to such evidence as provided.
A grand jury can indict a person for an offense, direct the direct attorney to file a prosecutor's information with a local criminal court or submit a grand jury report.
There were 47 passengers aboard the Ethan Allen on Oct. 2, 2005, in addition to the one crew member, Captain Richard Paris, 74, a retired state trooper and friend of Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland. The lack of testing of Paris for alcohol and/or drugs immediately after the accident, a decision made by Cleveland, has come under fire. Cleveland said that he didn't believe Paris was under the influence because he had him "blow" in his face and Cleveland said he didn't detect any odor of alcohol. It's not known how Cleveland ruled out the presence of drugs. Cleveland said no favoritism was shown in his decision not to test Paris.
Paris maintains that a wake from the Mohican, a larger tour boat owned by the Lake George Steamboat Company, caused the Ethan Allen to flip over and sink in 70 feet of water about 400 to 500 feet from shore at Cramer's Point near Green Harbor and Hearthstone Park.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and issued a report in July, finding that the probable cause of the capsizing was the vessel's insufficient stability to resist the combined forces of a passing wave or wave, a sharp turn and the resulting involuntary shift of passengers to the port side the vessel.
Cleveland and the Warren County Sheriff's Department issued a three volume, 530-page report in early February, determining that no criminal charges would be brought by his department in the accident. The report contained statements from victims and witnesses, including Paris.
Numerous civil actions have been filed in relation to the accident and are pending in federal court.
Shoreline was cited 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.
Witnesses and Paris have said that a wake caused by the Mohican may have contributed to the capsizing of the Ethan Allen. Paris told the Warren County Sheriff's Department that a wake from the Mohican caused him to make a sharp right turn before the boat capsized but the pilot of the Mohican, George LaPointe, has given a statement that the Mohican wasn't in the vicinity of the Ethan Allen at the time of the accident. 11-18-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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