Tag Archives: Cooper Bacon
Coast Guard investigation into the death of commercial fisherman Walter Krupinski continues
The $300 in fines assessed to the captain of a 60-foot yacht that collided with Walter Krupinski’s 23-foot boat doesn’t sit well with Krupinski’s widow Peggy. “These $100 fines just don’t cut it with me. My husband died,” Krupinski said. “Hopefully the Coast Guard or the Justice Department can do something more.” Cooper Bacon, 76, of New Jersey was found guilty March 27 of violating three Coast Guard navigation rules resulting in the Sept. 22, 2015, death of Krupinski, 81. Bacon is licensed as a captain by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each of the violations — improper navigation or failure to have a lookout, failure to take action to avoid a collision and improper overtaking of another vessel — carries a maximum $100 fine. Dawn Hallen, chief of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigations Division, attended Bacon’s four-day trial. She said her division’s investigation into the collision is not done yet and Bacon has refused to speak with Coast Guard officials, which has made the process lengthy and more difficult. click here to read the story 07:45
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
