Milwaukee Mourns for Seattle Family
Alcohol blamed for fatal recreational vehicle accident on lake
On behalf of Milwaukee personal injury attorney Ric Domnitz of Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. posted in Recreational Vehicle Accidents on Friday, July 25, 2014.
An area real-estate agent is facing serious charges after a boating accident that left a 33-year-old woman dead. The recreational vehicle accident occurred on July 16, when a speedboat collided with the sailboat on which she was riding. The operator of the faster boat has been taken into custody; alcohol is thought to have been a factor in the crash.
The defendant, age 46, was arrested during the early morning hours on July 17. He has not yet been identified because a probable-cause hearing has not been held. However, investigators say that they believe alcohol contributed to the collision, as the man was behaving in a manner consistent with intoxication.
The decedent in this case died after she was thrown into the water when that man apparently struck the sailboat. Two other people were also flung into Lake Washington during the collision; one man in his 40s remains hospitalized in serious condition. The other injury victim, a woman in her 30s, has been treated and released.
Reports show that the woman was a schoolteacher in the Seattle area. Originally from Wisconsin, she was an avid traveler who spent time living in Australia and finally landed in Seattle. The woman had been a veterinary technician before transitioning into a position teaching science at a local private middle school.
Family members should never have to suffer the death of a loved one in a boat accident caused by alcohol consumption. Boat operators have the same imperative to maintain their sobriety as those who get behind the wheel of a car. Boaters who operate their vehicle while intoxicated may be penalized with criminal consequences, but they may also be targeted by civil suits from surviving relatives seeking financial compensation for the accident.
Source: The Seattle Times, “Seattle teacher killed in Lake Washington boat collision” Jennifer Sullivan, Jul. 17, 2014
Do you need legal advice from a Milwaukee personal injury attorney following a recreational vehicle accident? Contact Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. today for a free consultation.