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Baltimore claims Dali was ‘unseaworthy,’ should pay for bridge collapse

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Baltimore claims Dali was ‘unseaworthy,’ should pay for bridge collapse


The owner and operator of the container ship that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month should not be allowed to skirt liability for the deadly and costly collapse because the vessel was “unseaworthy” when it left port, attorneys for the city of Baltimore asserted in court filings Monday.

The bridge’s collapse was caused by “negligence of the vessel’s crew and shoreside management,” the city claimed in court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

The Dali lost power on March 26 as it was exiting the Port of Baltimore and careened into one of the Key Bridge support pillars, crumpling the 1.6-mile span above where eight members of a construction crew were working on the roadway. Six of them died; two survived.

Days after the fatal collapse, the Dali’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and manager, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., filed a petition in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, asking a judge to cap how much money they could be asked to pay in liabilities at about $43.6 million.

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But attorneys for the city said in Monday’s filing that there should be no such cap, because liability cannot be limited if there is evidence of fault — an allegation they wrote could be proven at trial.

The court filing cites an Associated Press report published April 15, in which someone identified as a “person with knowledge of the situation” said that alarms on the Dali’s refrigerated containers sounded while the ship was docked in Baltimore. The filing did not detail other evidence to support the city’s claims.

Those alarms, the court filing claims, are indicative of an “inconsistent power supply” that was “not investigated or, if investigated, not fixed.”

“None of this should have happened,” attorneys wrote.

The city also made several broad claims against the owners and operators of the Dali, asserting they had failed to properly train the ships crew, follow safe work and operational procedures, properly equip the vessel, conduct adequate inspections and provide proper management of the vessel. The city did not provide any evidence or examples to explain those allegations.

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Attorneys for the city did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean declined to comment Monday citing ongoing federal investigations and the legal proceedings.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation have been investigating the crash since the collapse last month. The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report into its probe in early May.

The FBI has also opened a separate criminal probe into the disaster.

In filing a claim against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, the city said the disaster “single-handedly shut down the Port of Baltimore, a source of jobs, municipal revenue, and no small amount of pride for the City of Baltimore and its residents.” The city said it would bear the impact of cleanup, tax losses and strain on Baltimore’s roads diverted from the now missing Key Bridge.

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Youth Reform Act advances out of Maryland Senate committee

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Youth Reform Act advances out of Maryland Senate committee


The bill repeals five crimes that, under current law, automatically charge juveniles as adults. It’s a compromise, and while it doesn’t end automatic charging, it shortens the list of crimes eligible. A watered-down version of the controversial Youth Charging Reform Act is advancing.



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Maryland family wants answers after boy with special needs breaks leg in class

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Maryland family wants answers after boy with special needs breaks leg in class


The parents of a 7-year-old first grader with autism are demanding answers from Prince George’s County Public Schools after their son suffered a severe leg fracture while at school — an injury no one has been able to explain.

Daevian Donaldson, a student at Felegy Elementary School in Hyattsville, is recovering from surgery after his femur was snapped and displaced during class last Friday, according to his parents, Daechele Kaufman and Anthony Donaldson.

RELATED | Prince George’s schools faces $150 million budget realignment: Superintendent explains

Kaufman said the day began normally as she dropped Daevian and his twin brother off for first grade. Around 9 a.m., she received an alarming phone call from the school.

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“They just said he was on the floor screaming and didn’t want anyone to touch him,” Kaufman said.

She rushed to the school and found her son with obvious trauma to his leg. Neither staff nor Daevian — who communicates differently because he is on the autism spectrum — could explain how the injury occurred, she said.

Doctors later confirmed the severity of the injury through X-rays.

“When I saw the X-ray and one of the nurses said he was going to need surgery, all these wheels started turning,” Kaufman said.

Daevian Donaldson, a student at Felegy Elementary School in Hyattsville, is recovering from surgery after his femur was snapped and displaced during class, according to his parents. (7News)

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The parents said they later learned Daevian’s regular teacher was attending a meeting at the time, and the special-needs classroom was being supervised by a substitute. They said no clear explanation has been provided for how a child could suffer such a serious injury without staff noticing what happened.

“It’s definitely neglect,” Kaufman said. “You can’t turn away and come back and say, ‘Oh, you fell,’ for a major injury like that. That’s not acceptable.”

After the family raised concerns publicly, Prince George’s County Public Schools issued a statement saying the district is investigating the incident and has placed the staff member involved on administrative leave.

Anthony Donaldson said that response does not go far enough.

“It needs to be more than one person on administrative leave,” he said. “Several people need to be evaluated on how they’re trained, or they need to be fired.”

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Daevian is continuing to recover after surgery but is still experiencing pain, his parents said. As the interview concluded, the 7-year-old quietly asked for his medication.

The family said they want accountability — and assurances that other children, especially those with special needs, will be kept safe.



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Man killed in Maryland barn fire believed to be ‘The Wire’ actor Bobby J. Brown

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Man killed in Maryland barn fire believed to be ‘The Wire’ actor Bobby J. Brown


The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that a 62-year-old man died in a barn fire at his home in Chaptico, Md. It’s believed that the victim was actor Bobby J. Brown, who starred on “The Wire.”

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