The Gloucester skipper of the power boat involved in a fatal 2008 collision in Buzzards Bay pleaded guilty yesterday to negligent operation of a vessel, death involved, and was given a one-year suspended sentence and 10 years probation.
Bristol County District Attorney Samuel Sutter was in the small downstairs courtroom at New Bedford District Court as Fred M. Bevins, 61, of 22 Honeysuckle Road, Gloucester, stood before Judge Thomas Kirkman and grimly accepted responsibility in the incident.
The crash claimed the life of David "D.J." Walsh, 64, who was at the helm of his 35-foot sloop Priority off Dartmouth when it was rammed from a rear angle by the 63-foot sport cruiser Reasons, piloted by Bevins. Walsh was killed instantly and his passenger, Warren G. Hathaway, now 67, of Dartmouth was injured below decks.
In addition to the suspended sentence and probation, Bevins will also lose his driver's license for 90 days and his captain's license for five years. He was also ordered not to operate or board any kind of boat for three years.
Before accepting the plea agreement, Kirkman heard witness statements from Hathaway and from Walsh's widow, Melody, via her attorney, Charles Murray.
He also heard Bevins' attorney, George Hassett, praise Bevins as a hard-working family man with children and grandchildren. Bevins owns The Car Shop on Maplewood Avenue.
Hathaway and Murray said they approved of the punishment as significant — especially the imposition of a three-year ban on boating against someone who is completely devoted to it, as they said Bevins is.
The sentence "sends a message to boaters" that negligent operation will bring serious consequences, said Murray.
Hathaway said the sentence reminds boaters "what they must do to protect themselves and others."
"You've got to pay attention," he said. "You have to recognize the amount of trauma and pain you have caused by a lack of attention."
"July 18 of last year was the worst day of my life by a huge margin," he said. He said that as an avid boater, "I feel we (he and Bevins) have something in common. We love the water."
Bevins could have been sentenced up to 30 months in prison, fined up to $3,000, or both; and could have lost his license for up to 10 years for the misdemeanor.
But Hathaway said he believes the offense should be regarded by the law as something more than a misdemeanor. The current law "is an old way to go," he said.
The judge countered that, had this been a motor vehicle accident, the circumstances and the sentencing would have been similar, since Bevins has no prior criminal record and was proven not to be using drugs or alcohol at the time. He said he was distracted trying to set a GPS unit.
Sutter said after the proceedings that changing the law regarding negligent operation of a boat is probably not in the cards, at least for him, since he is spending his available time trying to amend the dangerousness hearing standards. Nor are there many cases like this, the first he has seen in 25 years as an attorney, he said.
Steve Urbon is senior correspondent of The Standard-Times of New Bedford. He can be reached at surbon@s-t.com
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