Coast Guard boat that killed 8-year-old boy was going too fast, lawsuit says

A lawsuit filed in San Diego alleges a Coast Guard vessel that slammed into a boat last year during a Christmas boat parade, killing an 8-year-old boy, was traveling at a dangerous rate of speed.

The suit was filed Tuesday on behalf of those inside the pleasure boat and comes as federal officials are trying to determine what caused the crash, which injured several people on the boat.

The accident cast a grim shadow over San Diego's annual Christmas tradition, which features fireworks and scores of boats with holiday lights and decorations.

The boy, Anthony Cole DeWeese of San Diego, was pronounced dead shortly after the crash, and five people, including two children, were injured.

Coast Guard officials declined to provide specifics about the collision, saying it was under investigation.

The DeWeeses and two other families are seeking unspecified damages from the federal government in the negligence and wrongful-death suit.

The boy's father, Alan DeWeese, 44, said he believed the 33-foot Coast Guard vessel was going at a high rate of speed.

Witness Mark Sromalla told The Times that he saw the Coast Guard boat moving through San Diego Bay moments before the crash and believed it was going too fast.

"The speed was incredible," he said. "Even if there was a life-threatening emergency, I'm not sure you would want to go that fast with that many boats" crowded in the water.

-- Shelby Grad

Photo: Anthony Cole DeWeese. Credit: Fox 5 San Diego

Comments

[Dan]

The bottom line is, the Coast Guard will be found "not guilty" guaranteed and the poor family won't get jack from the governement. Remember the pilot who crashed his jet in San Diego, still nothing for those families. I'm retired from the Military after 26 years of service, I have first-hand experience with this. It's a shame...

[contraryjim]

The US Coast Guard used to be every boater's friend. They taught safety and helped train young people. Now they are just another arm of a repressive government chasing after drug dealers that the government put in business and poor people that wish a better life for their families by migrating to the states.

It is a shame.

[eb]

The Coast Guard provides a needed service to those on the water, they should be honored for doing so.

At the same time, I believe that it's mission has been altered by politics and his institution has been corrupted by a mandate other than water safety.

[Terry Hodson]

No one, even the U.S. Coast Guard is above criticism still, I doupt, outside of the child's family, there are any who lament, and ache over this horror, more than the members of the United States Coast Guard. The death of ANY child is heart wrenching. No child or family of a child should ever have to face these realities. God have mercy in this tragedy.
My experience has been that most Coasties would have sacrificed everything including their lives to rescue this child. Most people join the Coast Guard dreaming of making that impossible rescue, especially of a child. Horrible accident--but lets not scapegoat heros! Consider there are apx. 35,000 Coasties in uniform about 35,000 lives were saved by the Coast Guard in Katrina. 5 billion dollars in illegal drugs never saw American shores thanks to the Coasties in 2009, 10-11 U-Boats were sank by the Coast Guard, most in American waters, during WW 2. Viet Cong water route was denied by the USCG during the war in Vietnam. Millions of men and materials arrived in England safely thanks to Navy detroyers and Coast Guard cutters during the Battle of the Atlantic in WW 2. God Bless and thank God for the United States military including the U.S. Coast Guard!

[Almost_Angeleno]

Sad indeed. I don't know when this "new mentality" began, but everyday I see more law enforcement groups behaving in aggressive, reckless and irresponsible behavior. Running or going through stop signs or red lights (for no apparent reason other than being too impatient to wait for a green light), unsafe lane changing or driving against the flow of traffic, and speeding through residential neighborhoods. I've even followed them (as best I could) only to find that there was no emergency to merit their recklessness. Most of them seem to be younger and I imagine they are pumped with testosterone or think they're living out a COPS episode. I've always considered the U.S. Coast Guard as a more mature, responsible branch of law enforcement, and I hope they will be able to vet out the yahoos from their ranks.

[Mike]

The CG and military habitually gun their boats through San Diego bay. A huge special forces boat from Coronado, a few years back, was going so fast past Shelter Island that the three foot wave it put out destroyed several boats on nearby moorings.

[pmg]

Really LA Times? Don't you think putting ", lawsuit says" after the end of the first part of the headline is rather disingenuous?

A quick read or scroll down the page would lead a careless reader to believe that it has been proven that the Coast Guard boat was going too fast.

[Nate K.]

"Rate of speed"?

[jt]

'chasing poor people that wish for a better life for their families by migrating to the states'? Hey contraryjim, what part of illegal don't you understand?

[TheBigPicture]

I think the boat had way too many passengers on board and it will probably be determined as the primary cause of death of that young lad...They County should criminally charge the Captain of that vessel...

[TheBigPicture]

to ContraryJim

95% of the world have it a whole lot worse than the US...Should we allow all of these uneducated people to sneak into our country when they really have nothing to offer...

[Joanne]

If the Coast Guard was at fault, the family has to be paid for their loss to show that the Coast Guard was at fault. That is how we show fault. It doesn't matter how many people were standing there. If there were four people, the child would still have died. A reckless driver is a reckless driver, on land and on the water.

[BooZeR619]

My only experience with Coast Guard was also in San Diego Bay, A buddy and I were chasing wakes on our pwc's and were immediately intercepted. While this happened some drunk bikini clad chick crashed a borrowed pwc onto some rocks and saved us from being cited (drinking beer while speeding)

[TheBigPicture]

well Joanne...for civil matters each side has a percentage fault, it's rarely cut and dried...