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Crown Says Conviction In Fatal BC Ferry Sinking Should Stand

The Canadian Press , 19 Nov, 2014 02:38 PM

VANCOUVER — The Crown is asking the B.C. Court of Appeal to uphold a mariner's conviction in connection with the fatal sinking of a passenger ferry.

Karl Lilgert is appealing his conviction for criminal negligence causing the death of two passengers who were aboard the Queen of the North ferry when it sank in March 2006.

The ship failed to make a routine turn and struck an island during an overnight voyage to Vancouver Island from Prince Rupert.

Lilgert's lawyer has argued the judge made several errors when instructing the jury, in particular by not telling jurors they could consider Lilgert's explanation for what happened as a mitigating factor.

But Crown counsel Mary Ainslie says Lilgert did not explain why the ship sailed in a straight line toward the island, but instead offered an alternative version of events in which he was actively navigating the ship.

Ainslie says the jury obviously didn't believe Lilgert, and therefore there was nothing Lilgert told them that could explain his failure to navigate the ferry.

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