Investigation into fatal boating crash

A decision on whether the driver of the powerboat that collided with a sailboat in Narragansett Bay (Newport, RI) in August — resulting in one fatality — will face criminal, civil, or no charges should be announced by approximately October 15, according to the chief of the Department of Environment Management’s Division of Law Enforcement.

“We are in the final stage where the report is generally complete; it’s being reviewed. We review it both with our internal legal [counsel] at DEM [to determine whether to bring civil charges or none at all], and any incident of this type” is also reviewed by Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office to determine whether the state will bring criminal charges, said DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement Chief Dean Hoxsie.

The DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement Marine Unit is responsible for investigating the August 11 collision that took the life of Sandra G. Tartaglino, 60, of Tiverton, RI. Tartaglino had been racing her F18 Nacra MKII catamaran in the 2019 New England 100 Regatta when hit by a 25-foot power boat.

“We understand the public thirst for knowledge,” especially in a social media era where information spreads seemingly instantly, Hoxsie said. In a DEM press release in August, the agency said the investigation’s results were pending an autopsy, collision reconstruction, and a collection of witness statements.

Source: newportri.com