NEGLIGENCE TRIAL BEGINS IN SPEED BOAT TRAGEDY THAT CLAIMED TWO\LIVES.Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer When Leah Helbert and Joey Halsey died last April on Pyramid Lake Pyramid Lake, 188 sq mi (487 sq km), W Nev. The lake, a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, receives the Truckee River. Visited (1844) by U.S. explorer John Frémont, the lake was named for its large pyramidal rocks. after their speed boat sank, it was the kind of tragedy that can destroy the lives of the survivors as well. The operator of the boat was Helbert's fiance, Patrick Forman, who was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. but recovered only to face a charge of criminal recklessness. Halsey's wife, Stacy, also was a survivor. But instead of harboring bitterness toward the man authorities blame for her husband's death - she married him and started a new life. And with that, she engendered the bitterness of her former husband's relatives. On Tuesday, the final act of a tragedy with a story line reminiscent of a soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. began to play in Newhall Municipal Court, where Forman, 31, is standing trial after attempts to strike a plea bargain plea bargain n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" or "no contest" to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the fell apart. In the courtroom were Forman's relatives, along with Joey Halsey's sister and brother-in-law. The two sides sat apart and did not speak. While the defense maintains the sinking was a tragic accident, Halsey's sister sides with the prosecution. "He shouldn't have been driving that boat that way with passengers in it," maintained Halsey's sister Robin Reneaux, 31, of Sylmar. "I want to see him convicted. He never apologized. All he said was, 'I can't believe this happened. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what happened.' " Approached in the courtroom before the trial began, Forman asking not to be "harassed" said he would make no comments. His relatives also declined to speak. The basic facts of the case are not disputed. Forman was operating the speed boat about 3:30 p.m. April 30 on Pyramid Lake, where he had gone boating with a group of friends from the northeast San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . The craft, a powerful speed boat owned by his girlfriend, was traveling with a second boat in Yellow Bar Cove when the two approached another boat pulling a water surfer. The second boat passed the water surfer on the right, while Forman went to the left. There he encountered a wake, the speed boat went airborne and fell apart after coming back down and hitting the water. Since the speed boat had no internal foam flotation flotation or froth flotation Most widely used process for extracting many minerals from their ores. The method separates and concentrates ores by altering their surfaces so that they are either repelled or attracted by water. devices, it sank within seconds, as the deck separated from the hull. Helbert broke her neck. Halsey drowned. In seeking charges, investigators contended Forman was accelerating as he came up on the boat pulling the water surfer, reaching 50 mph as the boat hit the wake. They also believe he may have been racing the second boat. Prosecutors agreed and filed a charge of reckless or negligent negligent adj., adv. careless in not fulfilling responsibility. (See: negligence) boating, which carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Defense Attorney James Barnes James Barnes is the name of:
"This poor man suffered the loss of his fiance. It's a horrible tragedy," said Barnes in a brief interview, shortly before afternoon testimony was set to begin. The attorney also complained that a plea bargain offer was withdrawn by the district attorney. "The DA's office has an attitude about this case, and I don't know where it comes from," he said. "It's very unprofessional." Deputy District Attorney Dan Damon, who heads the county district attorney's Newhall office, said he would not comment on any aspect of the case while it was in trial. Meanwhile, inside the courtroom, the first witness took the stand Tuesday morning. He was Tim Thelan, the water surf boarder who the speed boat passed. Both sides attempted to extract testimony to support their case. Thelan testified that he clearly heard the big jet engine of the speed boat accelerating as it passed him. He estimated Forman's boat was traveling the lake's 35 mph speed limit when it hit the wake, caused by both his boat and some nearby jet skis Jet Ski A trademark used for a personal watercraft. jet ski Noun a small self-propelled vehicle resembling a scooter, which skims across water on a flat keel jet skiing n . He said the crash caused an enormous splash, some 30 feet high. "He went in the air about 15 feet. As he came down, the front hull of the boat submerged in water and . . . the hull snapped," Thelan said. "When the water settled down there was no more boat, just debris floating around." The trial is expected to last at least a week. Barnes has indicated he plans to have an engineering expert to testify To provide evidence as a witness, subject to an oath or affirmation, in order to establish a particular fact or set of facts. Court rules require witnesses to testify about the facts they know that are relevant to the determination of the outcome of the case. on the defense's behalf. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (Color only in SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. edition) Patrick Forman, 31, left, confers Tuesday in the courtroom on the opening day of his trial for negligence in two speed-boat deaths. Dusty Locke/Special to the Daily News |
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