Skipper charged in diver death

[DandyDon]

Another Carbon Monoxide death. From the description of the compressor, sounds like he's going down.

KETCHIKAN, Alaska: Skipper charged in death of sea cucumber diver | State News | ADN.com

KETCHIKAN, Alaska — A 32-year-old Ketchikan commercial fisherman has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and criminal negligent homicide in the death of man who died while diving to harvest sea cucumbers.
The Ketchikan Daily News (Ketchikan Daily News - Access denied) reports Joshua Wodyga was arraigned Monday.
Emergency responders on Oct. 8 answered a mayday call from Wodyga's boat, the Ostrich. Two divers had suffered injuries from a breathing device.
One was resuscitated but the other, 32-year-old Levi Adams, died.
District Attorney Steven West says the air compressor Wodyga used was marked as not for human use. He also says Wodyga did a terrible job of maintaining the compressor.
Attorney Diane Thoben represented Wodyga at arraignment. She says the Coast Guard in October concluded the death was accidental.
A trial date is set for June.

Read more here: KETCHIKAN, Alaska: Skipper charged in death of sea cucumber diver | State News | ADN.com
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[iamrushman]

very sad news....is this a case of cutting corners?...another question:..what do they use the sea cucumbers for??

 

[DandyDon]

very sad news....is this a case of cutting corners?...another question:..what do they use the sea cucumbers for??

Yeah, a poorly maintained compressor would be cutting corners I suppose. Using one not intended for human breathing to breathe at depth sounds suicidal/homicidal to me.

Sea cucumbers are used in various cuisines - yep, they eat those, and Oriental medicine. Harvested for commercial sales, they can be expensive. Sea cucumber (food) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Doubler]

Having eaten Sea Cucumber at a Sushi bar may I suggest you eat your Nike 's first, more flavor and a lot less chewy.

 

[DandyDon]

Having eaten Sea Cucumber at a Sushi bar may I suggest you eat your Nike 's first, more flavor and a lot less chewy.

The Wikipedia article claims "The taste is described as 'tasteless and bland'."

Hot market tho: "In 2013, the Chinese government cracked down on the purchasing of sea cucumbers by officials as their expensive price tag could be seen as a sign of opulence." The various stories I hear about food in the Orient don't make sense to me. My daughter says from her experience with two different Asian exchange students is: Rule One - buy large bottles of ketchup.

 

[markmud]

Yeah, a poorly maintained compressor would be cutting corners I suppose. Using one not intended for human breathing to breathe at depth sounds suicidal/homicidal to me. (Emphasis added by MM)

Sea cucumbers are used in various cuisines - yep, they eat those, and Oriental medicine. Harvested for commercial sales, they can be expensive. Sea cucumber (food) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hey DandyDon,

Thanks for posting these incidents on this forum. They are interesting.

IANAL, therefore what follows is an educated guess. Would a proper COD for the diver be suicide and a winnable indictment for the owner/operator of the equipment be criminal negligence. To prove homicide, a Prosecuting Attorney would have to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the operator intended for the diver to die, with malice and forethought. No, yes, maybe? What do you think? Stupidity is not a valid theory for proving homicide.

markm

 

[DandyDon]

I used the words suicidal/homicidal loosely, but my view is it would be at least negligent if not intentionally harmful.

 

[redacted]

Hey DandyDon,

Thanks for posting these incidents on this forum. They are interesting.

IANAL, therefore what follows is an educated guess. Would a proper COD for the diver be suicide and a winnable indictment for the owner/operator of the equipment be criminal negligence. To prove homicide, a Prosecuting Attorney would have to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the operator intended for the diver to die, with malice and forethought. No, yes, maybe? What do you think? Stupidity is not a valid theory for proving homicide.

markm

Murder involves intent. Manslaughter does not. Both of those, and more, are homicides.

 

[NAM001]

Is it safe to assume the captain was using a homebuild hooka for an air supply made form an old tire compressor or something like that.

---------- Post added March 30th, 2014 at 08:54 PM ----------

Is it safe to assume the captain was using a homebuild hooka for an air supply made form an old tire compressor or something like that. Or replaced the electic motor with an angine.

 

[DandyDon]

Ok, so they convicted him of criminally negligent homicide, but not manslaughter. The judge sentenced him to 3 years with 2 suspended. If the Kansas diver had any family, I hope they sue and take his boat, except he was using a public defender so I guess he already lost that. Fisherman sentenced to 3 years for Alaska diving death | Local News - KTUU.com Anchorage