The People v. Scott CA2/1

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

At approximately 1:45 in the morning, a dinghy traveling between 10 and 20 knots1 in a 5 knot speed zone smashed into the side of a well-lit, 43-foot white sailboat anchored in a crowded harbor at Catalina Island. Two men were in the dinghy: Brad Scott, its owner, and Rel Vrooman, his friend. Both men were unconscious when the sailboat’s owners came to their aid. Vrooman suffered a head injury requiring surgery and lay in a medically-induced coma for a month and a half. Vrooman also broke his collarbone, scapula, left arm and elbow and all of his ribs. His spleen had to be removed and he lost most of his eyesight. Scott suffered only minor injuries.

1 A knot equals 1.15077945 miles per hour. At the speed the dinghy was traveling, knots and miles-per-hour are roughly the same.

2 A. The Prosecution’s Case. The prosecution charged Scott with violating Harbors and Navigation Code section 655, subdivision (f) 2 on the theory that Scott was piloting the boat at the time of the accident, that he was intoxicated, that the boat was exceeding the harbor speed limit and that his conduct was the proximate cause of Vrooman’s injuries. In support of this…