California captain indicted on new charge in dive boat fire that killed 34 people

The captain of a dive boat that went up in flames three years ago off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, leaving 34 people on board dead, was indicted this week on one count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer. 

Captain Jerry Boylan, 68, was allegedly the first crew member to abandon ship when a fire was ignited on Conception on Sept. 2, 2019. 

He allegedly failed to “perform any lifesaving or firefighting activities whatsoever at the time of the fire, even though he was uninjured,” and did not use the boat’s public address system to warn others on board of the fire, according to the indictment. 

Boylan is also accused of failing to have a night watch and failing to conduct necessary fire drills.

Five crew members, including Boyland, were asleep in the upper deck when the fire broke out. The crew members escaped, while 33 passengers and another crew member who were below deck died from smoke inhalation. 

“This tragedy was totally preventable and due to his negligence and inaction 34 lives were lost and our lives changed forever,” families of the victims said in a statement.

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The cause of the fire has never been determined, but investigators did find that it started near the back of the main deck, where people had plugged in phones and other items with combustible lithium-ion batteries. 

The new indictment on Tuesday comes after a federal judge threw out previous charges against Boylan because they did not allege gross negligence. 

Boyland faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.