OCEAN CITY — A downtown watersports rental company, along with its owner, has been charged by Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) with multiple counts related to a fatality last summer including negligence.
Following an investigation into the tragic incident in August when a nine-year-old boy fell from the bow of a rented pontoon boat near the Inlet in Ocean City and was fatally struck by the vessel’s propeller, Maryland NRP officials last week applied for charges in Worcester County District Court against OC Watersports LLC and owner Tyler Barnes, who operates the watercraft rental operation near the base of the Route 50 Bridge at Talbot Street. The NRP’s application for charges was reviewed by a Worcester County court commissioner, who determined probable cause existed for five charges.
As a result, Barnes and OC Watersports LLC have now been charged with five counts related to the fatal pontoon accident in August including improper equipment on a rental vessel, failure to keep records, negligent operation of a vessel, the latter because it is considered negligent operation for a boat rental company to allow an overloaded vessel to leave the dock.
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Editor's note: We posted the press release from DNR about this incident yesterday. This article explains things a bit better.
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9 comments:
The person operating the boat is responsible, but then I guess you can't sue yourself.
So the rental company is liable because the parents were too stupid to not let a kid sit on the bow of a vessel under way?
While I agree that the parents weren't being responsible, I think the issue is that the rental person SAW how many people were on that boat and didn't demand that they leave some people on dry land. Too crowded, kids not wearing life jackets, and a newbie driving the boat who probably had no clue how dangerous it was!
I think they snuck more people on sad story don't think it would of helped in this case but some one in family needs to b charged for the boy not having life vest on.
And yet Two rich boys from OC can beat a man to death and walk away with only affray charges.
I can see this business owner being held liable in civil court but to charge him criminally is going to far. If this man is responsible just for renting the family the boat then the boys parents should also be held accountable for their part in his death as well. Time to start holding people responsible for their own actions. These people were adults and should have know better themselves. You don't have to own a boat to know that dangers exist when operating one. Oglesby point of view of justice is severally twisted. Sometimes a horrible accident is just that, a horrible accident.
Tell the business guy to just ask the Oches Family how much they had to donate to Oglesby and maybe he can start a go fund me page.
First place there should be some kind of low railing so no one could sit on the bow with their legs hanging over the edge. There so many things that were wrong with that whole senario it is just unbelievable. 17 people on that boat alot of whom had to be parents is just the beginning. there is a lot of fault to go around and the boat owner and all of the adults share some of it.
typical dnr bs. it's their job to go after those on the boat not the company that rented it to some fool. whoever operated the boat is the person that should be held accountable. so I rent a car and run people over think hertz is responsible?
maybe I'll run some deer down in a field then I can walk away and blame hertz!!!
great job dnr! total joke of an agency!!!!
we the public hate yes hate you! you ticket poor people and the rich and connected walk away!
BS!
Anonymous Anonymous said...
So the rental company is liable because the parents were too stupid to not let a kid sit on the bow of a vessel under way?
January 19, 2017 at 11:55 AM
ABSOLUTELY. The "captain" is in charge of his vessel and responsible for it, himself, his crew, his passengers and freight if any. The "captain" allowed these things to occur and he is required to know the laws and safe operation of his vessel.
The parents may or may not have shown poor judgment. But ultimately it is the "captain" who must be in charge and assume all the responsibilities associated with that position.
Each of the counts include an option of paying a fine in lieu of appearing for trial. The fines range from a low of $55 for failure to keep records to as high was $320 for negligent operation of a vessel, although the average is in the $85 to $90 range. The combined fines total around $650. A preliminary hearing has been set for Feb. 17.
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