Boat Capsizes Off Long Island, 3 Children Dead

[Bobcat]

Three children died and 24 people were rescued after a yacht bringing passengers out to view a Fourth of July fireworks display capsized in the waters off Long Island, N.Y.

The boat capsized late Wednesday night as a result of weather and a wake from another vessel on the water, Nassau County Police Insp. Kenneth Lack said. The 24 passengers were rescued from the Long Island Sound after the boat capsized around 11 p.m. in the vicinity of Oyster Bay.

The first person to be found dead in the water was discovered shortly after the distress call came in. Two others were located in the vessel hours after it sank by divers, Lack said early this morning. The identities and ages of the victims have not been released.

"It was a lot of people in the water," Lack said. "It was a tremendous response by multiple agencies. Most of the people were taken into other crafts very quickly. Tragically, three people did not make it out of the Silverton vessel."

Two 25-foot rescue boat crews from Coast Guard Station Eaton's Neck, along with rescue teams from the Nassau County Police Department, Oyster Bay Constable, Tow Boat U.S., and several local fire departments aided in the rescue efforts, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Owners of private boats dragged people into their vessels until crews from law enforcement agencies and fire departments arrived, The Associated Press reported. Witnesses say they saw adults and children in the water and did what they could to help, including throwing life jackets and life preservers in the water.

A total of 27 people were originally aboard the 34-foot Silverton vessel, according to authorities.

Police are now investigating whether the vessel sank because of overcrowding. Some of the passengers aboard the boat had life jackets, while others did not, Lack said.

Sammy Balasso, an area boater who says he saw the boat sink, told Newsday that he saw the yacht turn right and then tip over after it was hit by a wake.

"It was like in slow motion. ... All of a sudden, a lot of bodies were in the water," Balasso said.

Insp. Lack said there were a tremendous amount of boats in the water to celebrate the holiday.
Also Read

 

[Ratickle]

Stuff like that just sucks, way too sad.....

3 children dead after boat capsizes in Long Island Sound near Oyster Bay | 7online.com

34 Sivertons have a wide beam, like 13' I think. I'm really surprised one would capsize.

 

[Bobcat]

That's a lot of people.

 

[rschap1]

Thinking of the kids just make my stomach turn and brings tears to my eyes.
TERRIBLE

 

[Ratickle]

FBI divers at sunken vessel off NY where 3 died
Published July 09, 2012
Associated Press

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. – A team of FBI divers was brought in Monday to assist Long Island police officials investigating the July Fourth capsizing of a yacht that sank, killing three children.

Nassau County Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said the divers were using sonar and video equipment to assess the site. He said officials planned to discuss a strategy for raising the vessel from its location approximately 60 feet below the surface of Oyster Bay, N.Y.

Officials said they expected the boat to be retrieved on Tuesday.

The 34-foot Kandi Won had 27 people aboard — 10 children and 17 adults — when it capsized following an Independence Day fireworks display. Killed were David Aureliano, 12, his cousin, Harley Treanor, 11, and a family friend, Victoria Gaines, who would have turned 8 on July 6. No serious injuries were reported by the 24 passengers who were rescued from the water, mostly by fellow boaters.

A funeral was held Monday for Aureliano and services were scheduled for Tuesday for the two girls.

"The examination of that vessel is a significant aspect of the investigation," Skrynecki said. "The FBI is very well-equipped to survey that site."

Skrynecki said investigators were still trying to determine whether there were enough life jackets on the yacht. Every passenger was required to have a life jacket, although the children were not required to be wearing them while inside the vessel's cabin, where the three bodies were recovered.

Skrynecki noted Monday that authorities may never be able to learn the exact number of life jackets, because some may have floated away.

Boating experts have suggested the vessel was too full and was bound to capsize, but Skrynecki said Monday that aspect of the investigation remained under review. Detective John Azzata, chief of the homicide squad, said it was too early to determine if there was probable cause to file criminal charges in the case. An assistant district attorney attended Monday's press briefing; a spokesman said the DA's office is monitoring the investigation and declined to comment.

The yacht's owner, Kevin Treanor, who is related to some of the victims, bought it in April 2011, boating records show. James Mercante, an insurance company lawyer representing Treanor, said last week investigators should look into whether a mechanical malfunction caused the vessel to capsize.

"Thirty-four-foot boats shouldn't roll over, with or without people on it," he said.

Mercante also said there were enough life jackets on board for all the passengers and then some.

The National Weather Service said a thunderstorm moved through the area about 20 minutes after the first 911 call and winds never exceeded 10 to 15 mph.

The boat's skipper, Sal Aureliano, has said in a television interview that he saw two lightning bolts and then a wave suddenly hit the yacht off Oyster Bay, on the north shore of Long Island.

"It turned the boat around," he said. "It just turned the boat. I didn't see it. It was dark. I didn't see it."

The Silverton yacht was built in 1984. The manufacturer has since gone out of business. Safety experts said most boats have manufacturer's plates that list capacity by number of adults and by total weight. So, theoretically, a boat could safely handle more passengers if some were children.


Read more: FBI divers at sunken vessel off NY where 3 died | Fox News

 

[Serious News]

Update;

A judge has ruled that any lawsuits against the owner of the boat involved in the July Fourth 2012 Oyster Bay accident in which three children drowned must be heard in federal court under admiralty law.

The ruling signed Oct. 10 by Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein and released Wednesday means that a lawsuit brought against the owner and nine other parties last week in State Supreme Court will not proceed until questions of negligence and liability are resolved in federal court.

James E. Mercante, maritime attorney for Kandi Won owner Kevin Treanor of Dix Hills, sought the ruling from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in an effort to limit Treanor's liability. Under admiralty law, other attorneys cannot contest the jurisdiction; they can only contest the owner's attempt to limit liability to the value of the vessel after an accident by proving negligence by the owner or the actual value of the vessel, several maritime attorneys said.

If the liability limit is not successfully challenged by attorneys for anyone suing Treanor, his monetary liability would be limited to the cash value of the 34-foot Silverton cabin cruiser after it sank. Mercante's motion included an appraisal from a marine surveyor stating the recovered hull is worth only $1,500.

The liability limit can be exceeded if it is shown in court that the owner was aware of a problem with the boat or was otherwise negligent, maritime attorneys said.

"If the owner is onboard, it's a tough sell" to limit the liability, said Howard M. McCormack of Garden City, a maritime attorney and former president of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. "The courts tend to take the view that if he's onboard and it's not a big boat, he's likely to have some knowledge of what's going on." But he added that "there are cases going both ways."

When the Kandi Won capsized, Treanor was onboard but was not steering.

Attorney Michael Della, who represents Paul Gaines, whose daughter Victoria, 7, died in the accident, filed a lawsuit in Supreme Court in Riverhead last week. Also killed were cousins, David Aureliano, 12, of Kings Park, and Harley Treanor, 11, of Huntington Station.

The Nassau County district attorney's office issued a report in July stating that overloading, with 27 people aboard, was the primary cause of the accident.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...t-lawsuits-must-go-to-federal-court-1.6274775