Families in Hudson River boat crash issue statement

[hrmjustin]

Eyewitness News

PIERMONT, N.Y. (WABC) -- The parents of the victims in the Hudson River boat crash say they are "shattered by the horrible accident" and suggested that poor lighting on a barge, not drunkenness, was responsible for the crash.

The parents of Lindsey Stewart and Mark Lennon released the written statement to Eyewitness News as they prepared to hold funerals for them.

Stewart, a bride-to-be, and Lennon, her finace's best man, were passengers on a speedboat that crashed into a barge holding equipment for the construction of a replacement for the Tappan Zee. Four others, including Stewart's fiancé, suffered injuries. Brian Bond was to marry Stewart on Aug. 10.

"Compounding our agony is the rush, by some, to cast blame on or even malign the victims. While police have issued serious charges against the boat's driver, toxicology results supporting those charges will not be available for days," they wrote. " We will never understand why this happened, but we do seek to understand exactly what happened that horrible night."

Read more at http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/northern_suburbs&id=9186957

[MADem]

1. Speedboat + darkness = Accident Waiting To Happen. nt

[dorkzilla]

2. They interviewed the Piermont Harbormaster the other day

She said though the construction barges have lights on them they're not bright enough. I'd say that's pretty damning, and I'm afraid the charges against the driver are a diversionary tactic (not to sound paranoid). Ive gone over the Tap lately, the only thing I noticed lighting the barges were the street lights from the span above. Going past the bridge on MetroNorth, all I can make out is the blackness of the barges but I was looking for them.

Such unutterable sadness.