Long Lake, Maine---Accident, who got the 411?
08-30-2007, 09:35 PM
#44
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Twin242 they already said that alchohol was not a factor for the people on the Sunsation. They did not however say anything about Ray. There was som RUMOR that ray was seen driving around with out lights on, others that say they were..... I was told that they found the dash panel in Rays boat and the switch was on. Of course that does not tell much, it could have been hit on in the accident, could have been turned on just before the accident, could have not worked, could have been on all night, who knows!!!!
Jon
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10-06-2007, 10:54 AM
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No details have been released just the charges. But the story on the news still states the smaller boat may have been traveling with its lights off. And no mention of the toxicology report on the two who did not survive
10-07-2007, 12:23 AM
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/mai...on_boat_crash/
Manslaughter indictment returned in Harrison boat crash
By Jerry Harkavy, Associated Press Writer | October 5, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine --A Massachusetts man has been indicted on charges of manslaughter and operating under the influence in the deaths of two boaters on Long Lake whose smaller craft was sliced in half by his high-powered speedboat, prosecutors said Friday.
Robert LaPointe Jr. was intoxicated and operating his 32-foot boat recklessly when the Aug. 11 collision in Harrison took the lives of Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Naples, and Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick, District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said.
LaPointe, 38, of Medway, Mass., and his passenger, family friend Nicole Randall, 19, of Bridgton, were thrown into the water while their boat raced ashore.
The vessel, which officials say had a top speed of 80 mph and was moving at an estimated 45 mph at the time of impact, came to rest more than 135 feet inland. Both LaPointe and Randall suffered minor injuries and managed to swim to shore.
The crash occurred after dark, at about 9 p.m., and Anderson said investigators do not know for sure whether the victims' 14-foot power boat had its running lights on. LaPointe told wardens that the boat displayed no lights when he saw it minutes before the collision.
Investigators said the throttle indicated that the victims' boat was in motion at the time of the crash but there was no indication as to its speed.
Divers spent four days in the water searching for the victims' bodies before they were recovered. The Maine Warden Service also recovered almost every piece of the demolished boat, put it together with clamps and duct tape, and determined the point of impact and the speed of the boat that hit it.
"It struck on the back left side and went over it," said Warden Jason Luce, who investigated the crash.
LaPointe and Randall were on the water for about nine hours prior to the crash and LaPointe had stopped and consumed alcohol at various locations, Luce said. LaPointe's blood-alcohol level was 0.11 percent, according to Anderson. Maine's legal limit is 0.08. Three cans of beer were found in LaPointe's boat.
No arraignment date has been set for LaPointe.
His attorney, J. Albert Johnson of Boston, said he doesn't think the district attorney can sustain any of the charges.
"Everyone ought to remember fully and completely that Mr. LaPointe has the presumption of innocence," Johnson said. He added that "negative pretrial publicity, prejudicial publicity can be very dangerous to a fair trial."
LaPointe is self-employed, married with two children, owns property in the Bridgton area and has no apparent criminal history, Anderson said. She declined to comment on whether he cooperated with the investigation.
The two counts of manslaughter are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The four counts of aggravated OUI each carry a maximum six-month jail term and a $2,100. LaPointe also was charged with one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
The accident generated extensive news coverage and prompted questions as to whether boats like LaPointe's, which was equipped with twin, 435-horsepower engines, are appropriate for use on Maine lakes.
The state has no statistics on the number of large, high-powered speedboats on popular southern Maine lakes such as Long Lake or Sebago, Luce said, but "there are a fair number of these boats out there."
Here is one of the original articles...
http://wbztv.com/topstories/local_story_229121831.html
Manslaughter indictment returned in Harrison boat crash
By Jerry Harkavy, Associated Press Writer | October 5, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine --A Massachusetts man has been indicted on charges of manslaughter and operating under the influence in the deaths of two boaters on Long Lake whose smaller craft was sliced in half by his high-powered speedboat, prosecutors said Friday.
Robert LaPointe Jr. was intoxicated and operating his 32-foot boat recklessly when the Aug. 11 collision in Harrison took the lives of Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Naples, and Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick, District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said.
LaPointe, 38, of Medway, Mass., and his passenger, family friend Nicole Randall, 19, of Bridgton, were thrown into the water while their boat raced ashore.
The vessel, which officials say had a top speed of 80 mph and was moving at an estimated 45 mph at the time of impact, came to rest more than 135 feet inland. Both LaPointe and Randall suffered minor injuries and managed to swim to shore.
The crash occurred after dark, at about 9 p.m., and Anderson said investigators do not know for sure whether the victims' 14-foot power boat had its running lights on. LaPointe told wardens that the boat displayed no lights when he saw it minutes before the collision.
Investigators said the throttle indicated that the victims' boat was in motion at the time of the crash but there was no indication as to its speed.
Divers spent four days in the water searching for the victims' bodies before they were recovered. The Maine Warden Service also recovered almost every piece of the demolished boat, put it together with clamps and duct tape, and determined the point of impact and the speed of the boat that hit it.
"It struck on the back left side and went over it," said Warden Jason Luce, who investigated the crash.
LaPointe and Randall were on the water for about nine hours prior to the crash and LaPointe had stopped and consumed alcohol at various locations, Luce said. LaPointe's blood-alcohol level was 0.11 percent, according to Anderson. Maine's legal limit is 0.08. Three cans of beer were found in LaPointe's boat.
No arraignment date has been set for LaPointe.
His attorney, J. Albert Johnson of Boston, said he doesn't think the district attorney can sustain any of the charges.
"Everyone ought to remember fully and completely that Mr. LaPointe has the presumption of innocence," Johnson said. He added that "negative pretrial publicity, prejudicial publicity can be very dangerous to a fair trial."
LaPointe is self-employed, married with two children, owns property in the Bridgton area and has no apparent criminal history, Anderson said. She declined to comment on whether he cooperated with the investigation.
The two counts of manslaughter are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The four counts of aggravated OUI each carry a maximum six-month jail term and a $2,100. LaPointe also was charged with one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.
The accident generated extensive news coverage and prompted questions as to whether boats like LaPointe's, which was equipped with twin, 435-horsepower engines, are appropriate for use on Maine lakes.
The state has no statistics on the number of large, high-powered speedboats on popular southern Maine lakes such as Long Lake or Sebago, Luce said, but "there are a fair number of these boats out there."
Here is one of the original articles...
http://wbztv.com/topstories/local_story_229121831.html
