On a July evening last summer, Robert Knarr, 68, took his granddaughter, Charlotte McCue, 8, and her mother, Courtney, out for a pre-bedtime cruise on the west shore of Lake George, New York, on his antique 28-foot Gar Wood Enchanted Evening. The McCues were visiting from California. Suddenly a 21-foot Larson slammed into the starboard side of Enchanted Evening. The Larson was going so fast it went airborne. The prop hit Charlotte, killing her instantly, and seriously injuring her mother.
The Larson stalled, but the driver restarted it and then sped away.
The next morning, the driver of the Larson, Alexander M. West, then 24, turned himself in to the sheriff’s office. Initially, he was just charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Later, however, as more facts became known, a grand jury indicted him on 12 charges, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and boating while impaired. He pleaded not guilty.
It turned out that earlier that day West and his four passengers had been seen drinking at Log Bay Day, an annual celebration on the lake. Toxicology reports taken after he turned himself in (more than 12 hours after the accident) showed no alcohol in his system, but police said there were traces of cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana.
A local jury just convicted West on eight of the 12 counts, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a crash. Sentencing is on June 5. He could face 22 years in jail.
Meanwhile, after receiving petitions with more than 1,000 signatures, local officials cancelled Log Bay Day. And Kate Hogan, the county DA, told The New York Times, “I think that a child who is innocently sleeping in her mother’s lap on gorgeous Lake George – on a family boat ride – is the picture of innocence. The fact that she was ripped from their lives in such a violent and vicious manner and the person who did it just fled – I think it’s the culmination of those factors that made this a very poignant case.”
Read The Times story here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/nyregion/lake-george-boat-crash-conviction.html?_r=0
