A New York man has been indicted by a Hancock County grand jury on charges related to a boat crash in Stonington this summer.
Charles R. Beam, 65, of Saratoga, New York, is accused of driving a 31-foot Duffy recreational boat named Bugaboo when it crashed into another boat that was motoring through Stonington’s harbor on Aug. 15, court documents indicate. Seven people were on the other boat when they collided but were not injured, according to Maine Marine Patrol.
Beam was indicted Thursday on two felony charges and three misdemeanor charges stemming from the crash, according to the Hancock County district attorney’s office.
Beam is facing a charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and a charge of aggravated criminal mischief, the prosecutor’s office said. Each is a Class C charge that, if convicted, is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
He also has been charged with reckless conduct, reckless operation of a watercraft and operating a watercraft to endanger, each of which is a misdemeanor charge.
The charges allege that “Beam failed to properly control his vessel, failed to maintain a proper lookout for other vessels, failed to give way in violation of vessel navigation rules and collided with a motor boat occupied” by the victims.
The other boat was a 22-foot Webber’s Cove owned by Devil Island Company, according to court documents. The company, based in Reston, Virgina, also owns Devil Island, a 62-acre private island less than a half mile from Stonington’s waterfront, according to the town’s property tax records.
Both boats, which are recreational boats built to resemble traditional lobster boats, were damaged in the collision, according to Marine Patrol.
Other details about the extent of damage or events leading up to the collision have not been released.