Boylan was accused of”misconduct, negligence and inattention” by failing to train his team, run fire drills and also have a roving night watchman on the ship once the fire ignited.
Boylan, 67, was indicted in December and declared for reserving Tuesday morning. He had been held in lockup and looked in court by movie sporting a blue surgical mask. He had been expected to be published after a $250,000 bond.
The infrequent national charges against Boylan were attracted under a pre-Civil War legislation designed to maintain steamboat captains and team responsible for marine disasters which were far more frequent at that moment.
Boylan along with four other team members, who’d been sleeping, escaped by the fiery ship following the captain left a panicked mayday call.
Boylan spoke very little during the brief hearing, reacting to Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth’s queries with”not guilty” and brief responses.
Each of 33 passengers and one crew member died in the bunkroom below deck, a few wearing shoes that resulted in speculation that they had been hoping to escape. Officials stated they had been captured by flames that blocked a stairwell and a little hatch which were the sole exits. All died of smoke inhalation, based on coroners’ reports.
Family members of Charles McIlvain and Justin Dignam, among other relatives, also observed the proceeding video by another courtroom. Some households listened in by phone. Rosenbluth apologized they could not be in exactly the exact same court but stated she recognized their existence in the hearing.
“We are here today to honor his memory and also to represent the households of 34 sufferers,” Kathleen McIlvain said outside court after the brief hearing. “We hope this is the start of the trip to find justice for our nearest and dearest.”
Federal safety investigators blamed the owners of this boat, Truth Aquatics Inc., for a lack of supervision, even though they have yet to be charged with a crime.
Truth Aquatics has sued in federal court under a supply in marine law to prevent payouts into the families of their victims. The households of 32 victims have registered claims against ship owners Glen and Dana Fritzler and the corporation.
