Chippewa County
(WQOW) - New
information has been released about last July's fatal boat crash on the Chippewa River.
Four people were killed that night, including three members of a wedding
party.
New information was released in a
press conference Wednesday, but no decision has been made about whether charges
will be filed.
The district attorney says he needs
more time to go through the case.
"This accident could
have been prevented," says Chippewa County District Attorney Steve Gibbs.
It's been nearly a year since two
boats collided on the Chippewa River taking
the lives of four men.
"The usual time
frame for blood on an OWI case or a drug case is 9 to 12 months. Just because
there were fatalities here, it didn't put us in the front of the line," Gibbs
says.
Now, the completed investigation is
in the hands of Chippewa County District Attorney Steve Gibbs. And that
investigation is lengthy,
"As you can see,
it's a three ring binder full of information," says Gibbs.
It reveals new details about what
investigators believe caused the crash.
"It was caused by
the speed of the watercrafts going very fast at night," Gibbs says. "Both
boats were traveling at a relatively high rate of speed. They were estimated to
be in excess of 30 miles an hour at the time."
Gibbs says the throttles of both boats
were stuck in the full speed positions when first responders arrived.
"Additionally, the
other two factors were alcohol and drugs, says Gibbs.
Specifically, in the systems of both
boat drivers. Mark Michels, the driver of the speedboat, was killed. The D.A.
says he had a blood alcohol level of 0.127, and had two prescription drugs in
his system. Robert Romanshek, the driver of the deck boat, had a B.A.C. of 0.08.
He also tested positive for marijuana, along with two other passengers on the
boat who were killed.
"I am not of the
belief that you should just charge something if you think you can do it, I
charge what I believe I can prove, and I still have to gather more information
on that. I want to thoroughly think this through before I make my finally decision.
I only received this last week."
Steve Gibbs says he could make a
decision within the next few months.
At least
three wrongful death lawsuits have been filed, alleging that one or both boat
operators were negligent.
