Families of Boat Crash Victims File Wrongful Death Lawsuits

The families of the two people killed in the boat crash on the Hudson River July 26 filed separate civil lawsuits against Tappan Zee Constructors, the barge owners and the owners of the speed boat they were riding in.

Mark Lennon of Pearl River and Lindsey Stewart of Piermont were both killed when the speed boat they were riding in collided with a construction barge near the Tappan Zee Bridge. The driver of the boat, JoJo John of Nyack, also faces criminal charges. He pleaded not-guilty of the 18 charges against him Wednesday. 

The wrongful death lawsuits are both being handled by Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo FC. They cite a lack of sufficient lighting as a cause for the crash.

"What we've learned so far is that some lights had been out," said attorney Frank V. Floriano of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo FC. "(We are alleging) If there was a light there, that it couldn't be seen. This thing was inadequately illuminated. It was painted black and low in the water.

"It was an extremely hazardous condition."

The lawsuits also refer to warning from boaters of the danger of the situation, specifically boater Michael Hortens, who emailed Nyack Mayor Jen Laird-White twice regarding his concerns before the crash. Both of his emails were forwarded to state officials. Hortens said he had also spoken with a representative of Tappan Zee Constructors, the consortium designing and building the new bridge. Read more about his concerns here. 

At the time of the crash, representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard stated that the lighting was up to its standards. Floriano said his firm would be looking into how that was determined.

He said that it was standard to include the operators of the host vehicle in civil lawsuit such as this one. John and Anthony Amendola are listed as owners of the boat in the lawsuit.

Shortly after the crash, the families of Stewart and Lennon issued a statement calling for closer investigation of the lighting and its possible role in the collision. More recently, they had expressed concern the investigation focused too much on John and not enough on other potential causes.

It is likely that the civil suits would not be settled or go to trial until after the criminal case against John is resolved, in part because discovery in the civil litigation is limited until the criminal matter is settled.