Reports that Coast Guard members were texting just prior to a fatal boat accident on San Diego Bay during a light parade were false, according to a new report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Three petty officers will stand trial for their roles in a collision between a Coast Guard boat and a pleasure boat that killed 8-year-old
DeWeese was on board a 26-foot Sea Ray with family, getting ready to watch dozens of boats participate in the second weekend of the annual Parade of Lights, when the crash occurred.
The Coast Guard boat was responding to reports of a grounded vessel when it collided with the pleasure boat carrying the boy. The crew blamed the crash on mechanical defects, poor training and lax leadership.
The revised memo, posted Sept. 29 on the agency’s website, states that the texts occurred in the 5 o’clock time frame in Central or Eastern time, not Pacific Time,
the San Diego Union Tribune reported.
Petty Officers Paul Ramos, the commander of the boat, Ian Howell and
Brittany Rasmussen have pleaded not guilty to charges in military court.
