Hearing in deadly CG crash enters day 2 - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Hearing in deadly CG crash enters day 2

ALAMEDA, Calif. — More witnesses were expected to testify Wednesday as a military-style preliminary hearing entered a second day for three Coast Guard officers charged in a December boat crash that killed an 8-year-old boy.

David Endert, the first witness to testify Tuesday, said that he thought the Coast Guard boat was traveling too fast when it struck another vessel in San Diego Bay.

"When I first saw it, I said to my wife under my breath, 'That guy's going to kill somebody,'" Endert said of the Coast Guard vessel.

Endert said he and his family were onboard a friend's boat during the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights boat parade when he spotted the Coast Guard boat about 150 feet away traveling about 35 mph. Other boats were moving at just 2 or 3 mph, he said.

Endert, of Upland, Calif., said the Coast Guard boat was on top of DeWeese's boat for about "15 to 20 seconds" after the collision. A woman could then be heard screaming and saying she couldn't find her son, he said.

Tears soon streamed down the face of Anthony's mother, Caroline DeWeese, during Endert's recollection.

Petty Officers Paul Ramos, Ian Howell and Brittany Rasmussen face each criminal charges in the case.

Ramos, the boat's coxswain, faces the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Howell and Rasmussen are each charged with negligent homicide and could spend up to three years in prison.

The three defendants sat mostly without expression during Endert's nearly hour-long testimony.

Earlier Tuesday, attorneys for the defendants argued that each should receive a separate hearing. Government lawyers want to try the three together.

The defense teams also said the hearing should be moved to San Diego to make it easier for witnesses to attend. About 20 witnesses are expected to testify either in person on by phone.

The hearing at the Coast Guard district headquarters in Alameda — just across the bay from San Francisco — is scheduled to last through Friday. Rear Adm. Joseph Castillo, the Coast Guard district commander, will decide whether the defendants should be court-martialed.

A preliminary hearing for Petty Officer Lavelle Teague, a fourth officer charged in the crash who is facing lesser charges, has been postponed.

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