Maryland lawmaker involved in BUI crash

Posted on 27 August 2012

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A Maryland lawmaker who told police he was drinking alcohol while piloting a speedboat that collided with a vessel full of children, injuring four of them, did not have a recommended boater safety certificate.

Delegate Donald H. Dwyer Jr., an Anne Arundel County Republican and an outspoken member of the state House Judiciary Committee, was not required to have completed a state safety course because Maryland boaters born before 1972 are exempt, according to the Washington Post.

On Friday, doctors were still monitoring the youngest of four children hospitalized after the Wednesday evening crash — a 5-year-old girl who authorities said suffered a fractured skull. She was thrown from the craft that collided with Dwyer’s boat in the Magothy River about 5 miles north of Route 50 in Anne Arundel County.

Three other children, all under 13, were treated and released for cuts, bruises and a broken arm. A family member said Dwyer could need surgery, but declined to elaborate.

Authorities on Friday identified a second adult who was on Dwyer’s 27-foot Baja, which the three-term delegate dubbed The Legislator.

The passenger was John E. Moran IV, a former police officer who narrowly lost an election for Anne Arundel County sheriff in 2006.

The accident on the Maryland river occurred during a season that also included the accidental sinking of a 34-foot Silverton powerboat on the Fourth of July on New York’s Oyster Bay in which three children were killed.

Dwyer appeared before reporters Thursday in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace and said his blood-alcohol level had been 0.2, or more than twice the legal limit for operating a boat.

On Friday, Dwyer’s Republican colleagues in the House of Delegates issued a statement distancing themselves from his actions.

If Dwyer is found at fault, he could at most be charged with misdemeanors: negligence and operating a boat under the influence. Combined, the two charges carry maximum penalties of $1,500 and 13 months in prison.

Under Maryland law, only boating accidents that result in deaths can be prosecuted as felonies.

Click here for the full report.

Comments

6 Tuesday, 28 August 2012 15:28

By Capt Brett

My heart goes out to those kids and their families and I hope they can all get past this tragedy.
As for the Legislator, this tragedy is just proof that any idiot can operate a boat just as any idiot can become a lawmaker. And no matter how much you lawyer up the world of boating, tragedies like these will still occur because of the idiots like him.
I just wish the folks who report these stories would leave out the partisan stuff. I'm a Republican but I, l like 98.9 percent of other Republicans, don't break laws or do stupid things that could endanger those around me. And, have you taken a boater's safety course lately? That wouldn't have prevented this accident either. You can't fix stupid with laws and safety courses.... Make an example with this joker and lock him up.... then others will think first before they drink and operate a boat.

5 Tuesday, 28 August 2012 04:06

By drewsboat

There are more than enough laws on the books to handle this situation. The book of laws should be a maximum of say 1000 pages. No law sholuld be added without deleting a another. Andrew's Rule.

4 Monday, 27 August 2012 22:34

By Denny...

While I agree with your comments, lets first find out what caused the accident, It may not have been his fault.

When I boat I don't drink, I never have because of some terrible accidents on the water I've seen on the Fox Chain-O-Lakes in Illinois, and the losses they caused. Around here people go bar hopping by boat, so going out on the boat on the weekends is putting your life in danger...

3 Monday, 27 August 2012 18:30

By Raeford Brown

BUI or BWI are, indeed, serious offenses, no less deadly than operating a car while under the influence. While additional legislation, in most states, is not needed, in North Carolina, the penalties do need addressing. First, if convicted of BWI, the penalty is a fine and court cost. No penalties are assessed against a motor vehicle operator's license as you don't need a license to operate a boat, nor points charged against your auto insurance. If you're over 26, you don't even have to take a boater's safety course, even if you've never operated a boat. I'm not sure what the penalty should be, but I'm sure there are some smarter-than-I folks who could address that.

2 Monday, 27 August 2012 18:02

By Harbormaster

What a disgrace. This man should be forced to resign if he isn't mature enough to do so on his own. The laws should be changed. Obviously, everyone driving a boat with a motor should demonstrate at some point that they have some basic knowledge of the rules of the inland waterways if that is where they boat.

Driving and drinking is such a no-no that noone needs a course in boating to know that. Operating a vessel while drunk is no more forgiveable than it is for operating a motor vehicle while drunk.

He may not have committed a legal felony but he should not believe for a moment that he hasn't committed a moral one.

1 Monday, 27 August 2012 15:33

By David Rueckert

A tragedy, no doubt. But I hope this is not a call for more government regulation. We have plenty of that. It is already illegal to get drunk and drive a boat. Dwyer is certainly old enough to know that. There are consequences in play.

Government regulation is not the answer to anything.

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