Families Sue Government, Survivor Over Drownings
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
4 February 2011
Survivors of two men who drowned in the Allegheny River last year while
fishing have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the United
States, the Army Corps of Engineers and a third man who survived after
a boat capsized.
Stacey Valenta of North Huntingdon, representing the estate of her
father, Gary Watson, and Ashley Abercrombie of California, Pa., wife of
the late Brian Abercrombie, are seeking in excess of $75,000 in their
suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
Also named in the suit is Cale C. Watson, Gary Watson's son and
allegedly the pilot of the 16-foot boat when it overturned April 10 in
46-degree waters in Harmar.
Gary Watson, 59, of North Huntingdon and Brian Abercrombie, 26, of
California, Pa., drowned after the watercraft overturned near Dam No.
3.
Cale Watson of North Huntingdon, who was 30 at the time of the
accident, was injured and rescued.
The 10-count suit filed by White Oak attorney Victor Pribanic accuses
the defendants of wrongful death, negligence, loss of companionship and
other claims. Other monetary damages being sought include funeral and
burial expenses and lost earnings.
According to the suit, the dam spans the width of the river. Water
flows over the dam, "creating an unmarked danger in the form of a
recirculating current," the complaint states, adding the current draws
boats toward the dam.
The civil complaint charges the United States, as owner of the related
lock and Dam No. 3, and the Army Corps, which is responsible for
maintenance and control of the lock and dam, failed to provide or
properly provide any buoys, sound warnings or other alerts to notify
boaters of the peril created by the dam.
"On April 10, 2010, there were also no signs in or around the river
marking a restricted area below Dam No. 3, or warning of the danger of
the recirculating current," the suit states. "Any signs that were
present were insufficient to clearly and effectively communicate where,
exactly, the restricted area was."
The suit charges the United States and Army Corps were aware of past
problems related to the warnings but did nothing to correct them.
The complaint contends Cale C. Watson, as the boat operator, failed to
keep the watercraft a safe distance from the dam.
Cale C. Watson could not be reached for comment.