Suit dismissed in ’05 tour boat capsizing

June 5, 2009

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the company that modified the Ethan Allen tour boat that capsized in upstate New York in 2005, killing 20 passengers.

Nineteen of the 20 who drowned in Lake George were seniors from southeastern Michigan on a fall sightseeing tour in the Adirondack Mountains.

One of the victims was Trenton resident Earl Hawley, 76. Anna May Hawley, who was pulled from the water by a family on a passing boat, was dismayed by the ruling.

“I’m very disappointed, but I guess there’s nothing we could do,” she said Monday, declining further comment.

U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy ruled Monday that there is no evidence to determine whether the vessel was rendered unstable by the replacement of a canvas-and-metal canopy with a canopy made of wood. The modified canopy was installed by Scarano Boat Building Co.

Read Article: Detroit Free Press

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