Dory operator won't face charges in accident that severed teen's arm
This photo released by Paul Snodgrass shows Cole Ortega, 14, second left, being helped to shore by fellow surfers after a collision with a dory boat on Sunday July 6, 2008 off the coast of Cape Kiwanda, Wash. By Associated PressPACIFIC CITY, Ore. (AP) - No criminal charges will be filed against the operator of the dory that severed the left arm of teenage surfer Cole Ortega at Cape Kiwanda this month.
Tillamook County District Attorney Bill Porter said he reviewed the evidence compiled by the sheriff's office and determined the case fails to meet the standards for recklessness or criminal negligence. "The level of injury alone doesn't convert this from an accident to a crime," he said. Surgeons at Portland's Legacy Emanuel Hospital reattached Ortega's arm, but said it will take months to know whether the 14-year-old boy from Bend will regain much use of it. The dory operator, Darrell Martin, is a sport fisherman who takes his boat out into the surf every week and has no history of reckless behavior. Martin, 55, stopped well outside the surf line that day, trying to find the best path to avoid the surfers while coming to shore, and had taken every step to be careful, Porter said.
Police at the scene did not test for alcohol because the officers found Martin to be cooperative and not seemingly under the influence of intoxicants, Porter said. Sheriff Todd Anderson of Tillamook said his officers found no alcohol on Martin's boat. Anderson said he cited Martin for not carrying a boater education card, which carries a fine of $97. The citation implied no fault or blame in the collision. The accident happened when the swell rose dramatically on the morning of July 6. Surfers went to catch the waves while the small boats needed to start coming into shore. That brought the groups together. "The very conditions that are dangerous for dorymen are welcome by the surfers," Porter said.
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