Homicide charge to be filed in fatal Buzzards Bay boat collision

August 14, 2008 11:11 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Globe Staff

Prosecutors plan to file a misdemeanor homicide charge against a Gloucester man involved in a boat collision last month in Buzzards Bay that killed a retired businessman.

David J. Walsh

Fred M. Bevins III was driving his 63-foot motorboat July 18 when it crashed into a 35-foot sailboat, throwing passenger David J. Walsh into the water between Round Hill Beach and Cuttyhunk. Walsh spent almost an hour in the bay before he was found. He was taken by a Coast Guard crew to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Prosecutors allege that Bevins was negligent in his operation of his boat and plan to charge him with one count of homicide by vessel, said spokesman Gregg Miliote for the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. The charge will be filed today or Friday, and Bevins will be summoned to court, he said.

Prosecutors did not describe what Bevins did that was allegedly negligent, but they did say that alcohol was not a factor in the crash. The misdemeanor charge carries a sentence of 30 days to 30 months and a fine of up to $3,000.

Walsh was aboard the sailboat "The Priority" with his friend, Warren Hathaway, the publisher emeritus of Hathaway Newspapers, part of the South Coast Media Group, which includes the Middleborough Gazette and the Fall River Spirit. Hathaway suffered minor injuries in the crash. Walsh was the retired president of Teledyne Rodney Metals, a specialty metals manufacturing company.

Bevins was driving his motorboat “The Reasons" and radioed the Coast Guard after the crash to say they had collided with a sailboat.