Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 31, 1993 TAG: 9303310127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ORLANDO, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Crews had a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 percent, surpassing the 0.10 mark considered intoxication under Florida law. Neither Olin nor Ojeda was deemed legally drunk.
Medical Examiner Thomas Hegert of Orange County said a 0.14 reading could be the equivalent of six to seven beers in a person of Crews' stature (6 feet, 195 pounds), "but the effects vary considerably in each person."
Col. Bob Edwards, law enforcement director for the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, called the matter an "alcohol-related accident." He added the commission does "not anticipate filing any charges."
Edwards said investigators consider three factors in this kind of accident: "careless operation, maintaining a vessel within the speeds consistent with safety, and [the lack of] a designated lookout, someone who can be utilized to help look for structures such as this."
Edwards and Lt. Bruce Cooper, in charge of the inquiry into the March 22 accident on Little Lake Nellie, said evidence indicated the 18-foot bass boat with a 150-horsepower motor was traveling at more than 25 mph in the dark, at about 7:30 p.m. However, "the exact speed at the time of the crash is unknown," Edwards said.
Investigators earlier said there were indications the boat was going near top speed of about 65 mph. Edwards said Tuesday that it was impossible to determine maximum speed.
Olin's blood-alcohol content was placed at 0.02 percent and Ojeda's at 0.006 percent, indicating they had considerably less to drink than Crews.
"Those were good, honest, solid men," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "It doesn't alter the fact one way or the other. Those guys are still dead. The hurt is still there. And I think enough is enough."
Hargrove updated the players in the dugout Tuesday after the Indians' fight-filled 6-5 loss to Cincinnati in Winter Haven.
"To me it doesn't change a thing," first baseman Paul Sorrento said. "They were a big part of the family. No matter, we still feel for the family. I still love him as much as before. It doesn't change anything."
Cooper was asked what possible charges could have been filed if the operator of the boat had survived the crash. "That's a what-if question that did not occur," he said. "We do have laws that would cover it. It would be held manslaughter if that did occur with alcohol."
Autopsies conducted in Orange and Lake counties determined the cause of death for Crews and Olin was "blunt force trauma to the head." The nature and location of the injuries indicated they did not see the dock. Ojeda also told investigators he did not see the dock, which investigators said was 171 feet long.
Investigators found unopened cans of beer in an ice chest, a nearly full bottle of vodka and an empty beer can aboard the boat.
The players were enjoying a day off from spring training at nearby Winter Haven and had gathered at Crews' lakeside ranch with their families. Crews, Olin and Ojeda decided to go fishing in Crews' Skeeter bass boat. Ojeda told investigators they had been on the water about 15 minutes when the crash occurred.
It was determined the boat was "planed out," or riding high in the water. The boat's prop cut a strip of grass approximately 250 feet long leading directly to the dock.
"If the boat had not been on plane, it would have plowed the grass aside and disturbed the bottom," Edwards said.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB