West
Captain gets 4 years for negligence in California dive boat fire that killed 34
- Jerry Boylan, the captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire off California’s coast in 2019, killing 34 people, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
- Boylan was convicted on a single count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-Civil War statute designed to hold captains and crew criminally responsible for maritime disasters.
- “Mr. Boylan lives with significant grief, remorse, and trauma as a result of the deaths of his passengers and crew,” his attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo.
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, and prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing lawsuits.
Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.
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Boylan’s appeal is ongoing. He faced up to 10 years behind bars.
The defense had asked the judge to sentence Boylan to a five-year probationary sentence, with three years to be served under house arrest.
“While the loss of life here is staggering, there can be no dispute that Mr. Boylan did not intend for anyone to die,” his attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo. “Indeed, Mr. Boylan lives with significant grief, remorse, and trauma as a result of the deaths of his passengers and crew.”
The Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet from shore.
Thirty-three passengers and a crew member died, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who conducted research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
FILE – In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a fire aboard the Conception dive boat fire in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019. A scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in the fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP, File)
Thursday’s sentencing was the final step in a fraught prosecution that’s lasted nearly five years and repeatedly frustrated the victims’ families.
A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, meaning he could have faced a total of 340 years behind bars. Boylan’s attorneys argued the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes, so prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.
In 2022, U.S. District Judge George Wu dismissed the superseding indictment, saying it failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence. Prosecutors were then forced to go before a grand jury again.
Although the exact cause of the blaze aboard the Conception remains undetermined, the prosecutors and defense sought to assign blame throughout the 10-day trial last year.
The government said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot boat.
But Boylan’s attorneys sought to pin blame on Glen Fritzler, who with his wife owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats, often around the Channel Islands. They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.
The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since an interview with a local TV station a few days after the fire. Their attorneys have never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
With the conclusion of the criminal case, attention now turns to several ongoing lawsuits.
Three days after the fire, Truth Aquatics filed suit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers to show they were not at fault.
That case is pending, as well as others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard for what they allege was lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Real roads come with real consequences. This summer, the Nevada Department of Public Safety and FOX5 want everyone to Arrive Alive, and that starts with smart choices behind the wheel. Safe driving habits are the best way to prevent crashes. With more teens and first-time drivers hitting the road, the Nevada Department of Public Safety is advising everyone to slow down, stay focused, and look out for each other.
- Stay distraction-free. Distraction plays a role in nearly 6 out of 10 crashes involving teens. The biggest distraction is often other teens in the car, followed by phones and in-car screens. Put the phone away, keep your eyes up, and save the playlist changes for later. Passengers can help too; keep the driver focused, not stressed.
- Don’t speed. Nearly 30% of fatal teen crashes involve speeding, and driving too fast cuts down your reaction time, increases stopping distance, and makes any crash more serious. Stick to the speed limit, slow down when roads or weather change, and leave plenty of space between you and the car ahead.
- Never drive impaired. Impaired driving is still a major problem in Nevada, making up 51% of traffic deaths from 2018 to 2022. If you’ve been drinking or using drugs, don’t drive. Call a trusted adult, use a designated driver, or take a rideshare.
- Buckle up! Every trip. Every seat. Seatbelts greatly reduce the risk of serious injury or death. Everyone in the vehicle, front seat and back, needs to wear one. Put it on every time. It takes seconds and can save your life.
We’re in the middle of the 100 deadliest days of summer please share the road, as even one traffic death is too many. Arrive Alive. That’s the plan. Learn more at ZeroFatalitiesNV.com
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar transgender girls and women from competing on girls’ and women’s school sports teams.
The decision could influence future policy debates in Oregon, but does not immediately change the state’s rules.
Oregon continues to allow students to participate in school sports, physical education, and other school activities in accordance with their gender identity.
The Oregon School Activities Association, which oversees high school sports statewide, said it is reviewing the ruling with legal counsel.
“The Oregon School Activities Association is reviewing today’s Supreme Court ruling with our legal counsel. The association will work with the Oregon Department of Education on the ruling’s impacts on state law and OSAA policy in order to provide updated guidance to member schools as needed. The OSAA remains committed to ensuring interscholastic activities remain a safe and welcoming environment for all student-athletes,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
While Tuesday’s ruling leaves Oregon’s current policy in place, political scientists say it could reshape the legal landscape surrounding future proposals.
“This particular decision, coupled with a federal push, may end up altering the landscape of opportunities in states that affirm trans athletic participation,” said Allison Gash, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Oregon.
SEE ALSO | Supreme Court ruling preserves Oregon law protecting late-arriving mail ballots
Gash said the Supreme Court’s decision itself does not require Oregon to change its policies.
Instead, she said the more immediate question is how the Trump administration chooses to respond.
“Where we could see some required movement on the part of Oregon or where it may impact Oregon directly is how the federal government determines what it wants to do in light of today’s ruling,” said Gash.
According to Gash, the administration has argued that schools should separate sports teams based on biological sex under its interpretation of Title IX.
“One of the several efforts that the federal government is taking to ensure that all states bar trans female athletes in particular from participating in women’s sports is to tie the provision of federal funding to essentially a ban,” she said.
She added that the Supreme Court’s ruling could make the administration “more muscular in those efforts because now the court has essentially upheld that interpretation.”
Oregon leaders respond
House Republicans unsuccessfully pushed legislation during the 2025 legislative session that would have required school sports teams to be separated based on biological sex, but the bill failed in the Democratic-controlled House.
The bill was sponsored by then state representative Christine Drazan, the 2026 Republican candidate for Governor.
In a news release Tuesday, Drazan welcomed the ruling, calling it “a victory for fairness, for common sense, and for progress.”
“Girls and young women across Oregon are still competing on an unfair and unsafe playing field. I have always supported women’s right to compete, and as Governor, I will do everything in my power to make sure that women’s sports are protected and girls across our state get their shot to compete and win,” said Drazan.
KATU asked Governor Tina Kotek whether she supports legislative or executive action to maintain Oregon’s current policy following the ruling.
The governor’s office had not responded by publication.
Meanwhile, Oregon Senate Democrats said in a news release that the decision does not change students’ rights in Oregon, and they vowed to continue to protect the policy in effect today.
“Nobody wins when states deny children the right to play sports. Sports have the power to unify, but today’s SCOTUS decision will lead to dangerous gender harassment of athletic girls. States banning access to sports are feeding the same regime that is trying to divide and control,” said State Senator Courtney Neron-Misslin.
She continued, “Oregonians must keep our eye on the ball. We must stay focused on addressing actual problems, protecting rights, addressing affordability, and investing in education. Today’s decision erodes LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of women across our country. Here in Oregon, we will continue to stand up to injustices and defend our most vulnerable from Trump-style attacks.”
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