Prosecutor charges homicide by boat

SEATTLE — The driver of a boat has been charged with the rare count of homicide by watercraft in the death of one of his passengers.

The charge was filed Thursday in King County Superior Court.

The charge against Scott Paul Hendrickson, 41, of Seattle, in the death of David Holmes, also 41, of Seattle was the first homicide by watercraft charge filed by the King County Prosecutor’s Office in five years, Deputy Prosecutor Amy Freedheim said Friday.

"It is unusual when we have all the evidence and we’re able to file the charge," Freedheim said.

The charge is the same as vehicular homicide, she said, "It’s just doing it in a boat."

If convicted, Hendrickson faces a possible sentence of 15 to 41 months, Freedheim said.

Charging papers allege that what started with three friends, a few rounds of drinks and a 17-foot Boston Whaler two years ago turned into homicide.

Hendrickson and two friends had been drinking at the Lock and Keel Tavern in Ballard on Aug. 2, 2001, when they decided it would be a good idea to take Hendrickson’s boat out for an evening spin, the papers said.

The three men puttered around Lake Union for several hours, stopping to visit friends and have something to eat. When it began to get dark, though, Hendrickson wanted to make up for lost time and started to speed west through the Ship Canal under the Fremont and Ballard bridges toward his moorage.

"Hendrickson began driving 30 to 40 miles per hour through the canal and then turned off his running lights to avoid the Harbor Patrol," the papers said. The posted speed for the area is 8 mph.

The charging papers said Hendrickson also was fooling around, aiming his vessel at boats and other objects then veering away at the last moment.

As Hendrickson tried to pass under the Ballard Bridge around 11:30 p.m., he struck a wooden seawall. The collision ripped the port bow from the vessel and threw Hendrickson and Holmes into the water. Holmes suffered a head injury and drowned.

The other passenger, Kenneth Larson, 38, of Seattle, jumped into the water just before the boat struck Pier 9 at Fishermen’s Terminal and flipped over.

Hendrickson and Larson were pulled from the water. Hendrickson was taken to Harborview Medical Center where he was treated for an injured leg and Larson was treated for two broken legs and internal injuries.

Hendrickson, who is not in custody, will be arraigned next Thursday.