The Norfolk District Attorney's Office says it is investigating a boat crash last month in Hingham Bay that left one person dead and another in critical condition.
The crash occurred on Aug. 16 around 12:43 p.m. off the coast of Grape Island in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Two people who were on a 21-foot Pisces sailboat that was involved in a collision with a 38-foot Sea Ray motorboat were critically injured and taken to area hospitals.
The district attorney's office confirmed Tuesday that one of the two people died Saturday, and the other remains in critical condition. The person who died was identified by authorities as 70-year-old Patricia Cicalese, of East Walpole. The name of the other injured party was not released.
A witness who saw the two victims brought back to shore in Weymouth told NBC10 Boston at the time that it appeared a woman was unconscious and a man had a serious gash to his leg. Authorities said the sailboat sank following the crash.
The driver of the motorboat and his wife were not injured and cooperated with police in the aftermath of the crash. According to court documents associated with the case the driver told investigators he was going about 17 mph at the time of the collision and did not see the sailboat until it was too late. He said he attempted to power down his vessel and steered hard to the side in an effort to avoid the collision.
Investigators said there was no evidence that the driver of the motorboat was in any way impaired.
The motorboat had multiple scrapes, rubs and cuts on its port side, investigators said, there were numerous pieces of wood strewn across the bow and along the starboard side, and there were blood stains on the rear starboard side of the swim deck. Both forward handrails were damaged and bent.
Prosecutors and state police detectives from the district attorney's office said Tuesday that they have assumed jurisdiction and are working with the Massachusetts Environmental Police to investigate the death.
Court documents show that investigators seized a Garmin electronic unit from the sailboat that has the ability to record and save data related to the operation, position, speed and direction of the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard took possession of the unit on Monday for forensic examination and extraction of pertinent data. A detailed inventory of any data gathered will be filed with the court as soon as it is completed.
The investigation remains active, and anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the district attorney's office at 781-830-4990.
