Tag Archives: Walter Krupinski

Yacht Captain in fatal crash is guilty

The New Jersey captain who was operating the 60-foot yacht that collided with a Stonington fisherman’s boat off Watch Hill Reef in September 2015 was found guilty on Monday of three violations of Coast Guard navigation rules. Licensed Captain Cooper Bacon, 76, was piloting the larger vessel between boat shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut when he collided with 81-year-old Walter Krupinski’s 23-foot Steiger center console. The Stonington resident, who was a commercial rod and reel fisherman, was fishing off Watch Hill Reef and had decided to head home for the day when the collision occurred, resulting in Krupinski’s death. continue reading the story here 08:34

Judge hears evidence against the licensed yacht captain that allegedly killed commercial rod and reel fisherman Walter Krupinski

During a six-hour trial at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal Monday, witnesses and investigators recounted the September 2015 fatal boat collision between a 60-foot yacht and a 23-foot outboard, killing the operator of the smaller boat. Cooper Bacon, 76, of New Jersey, was piloting the yacht between boat shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut. He is a licensed captain. Walter Krupinski, 81, a commercial rod and reel fisherman from Stonington, owned the 23-foot Steiger center console and was fishing off Watch Hill Reef on Sept. 22, 2015, when the collision occurred. Bacon pleaded not guilty in May to charges by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Law Enforcement for three violations of the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Rules. He asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and did not answer any questions from the plaintiff’s attorney Monday. Read the story here 10:42