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Posted in Barge Accidents,Tug Boat Accidents on November 3, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Former tugboat pilot Matthew Devlin of Catskill, N.Y, was sentenced Tuesday, Nov 1, to a year and a day in prison for the fatal river crash in Philadelphia last year that killed two Hungarian students 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem.
Photo Credit: WPVI/Philadelphia Police Dept.
The accident occurred on July 7, 2010 when Devlin, who was distracted by cellphone calls due to a family emergency, pushed a huge barge through a busy shipping channel on the Delaware River running over a stalled duck boat, sinking the tour boat and sending 37 people onboard into the river.
Boston.com reports:
Devlin had spent nearly an hour on a cellphone and laptop, and turned down a marine radio, stifling Mayday calls from the duck boat and others before the July 7, 2010 crash. He had also moved to a lower wheelhouse so he could hear better, though it blocked his view of the river.
“Goodness gracious. Everybody knew this was happening but you,” U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis told Devlin.
“There was plenty of time to avoid this accident,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Zauzmer said.
Both sides agreed that a string of incredible events converged before the crash. His 5-year-old son had suffered a serious complication during routine eye surgery. The duck boat overheated on the 103-degree day because someone left a radiator cap off. The duck boat captain mistook the steam for an engine fire, and anchored the boat in the busy channel.
Many of those aboard the duck boat were from Hungary and spoke limited English.
“Distraction is becoming the new DUI,” NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said at a June hearing on the case. “This is going to reach epidemic proportions.”