HERKIMER - A 24-year-old man who swam away from the scene of a boat crash that killed a passenger on an Adirondack lake last summer pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter.
Keir Weimer admitted to second-degree vehicular manslaughter in Herkimer County Court just 30 minutes before jury selection was scheduled to begin at his trial.
Weimer, of Pompey, said he was piloting the boat that crashed into Alger Island State Campground on Fourth Lake in Old Forge in July 2006, killing 20-year-old Tiffany Heitkamp of Syracuse.
The boat was going so fast it came to rest 150 feet inland from the shore. Four other passengers were hurt in the wreck.
Under the plea agreement, Weimer will receive two to six years in state prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26.
Weimer had also faced a charge of second-degree manslaughter, which would have carried a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison if he was found guilty after trial.
“It was absolutely not an accident,” said District Attorney John Crandall. “It was a crime pure and simple.”
State police said Weimer had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, higher than the state limit of 0.08.
He was originally charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and reckless operation of a vessel. He had previously pleaded innocent.
After the crash, Weimer left his friends and swam to his family's camp on Thistle Island, about a quarter-mile away. Troopers said they found him leaving the water.
Troopers who arrested Weimer said he at first denied he had been driving the boat. At the time of the crash, Weimer, a college student, was free on his own recognizance on a pending DWI charge in East Syracuse.
According to police and witness accounts, a group of six people piled into a boat around midnight July 22, 2006, to go to Daiker's bar, less than a mile away across the water, state police said. They left about 90 minutes later, with Weimer driving the 19-foot, 2000 Four Winns speedboat, troopers said.
In the approximately 1,000 feet from Daiker's to Alger Island, the boat accelerated so fast that it hit the island and flew 150 feet inland, slamming into trees and ripping a lean-to off its concrete foundation.
According to court documents, Weimer had glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and was uncooperative when state police interviewed him.
Crandall said he decided to accept Weimer's plea after he discussed the circumstances with Heitkamp's family. However, it would not be appropriate to say that her family was “satisfied” with Weimer's guilty plea, he added.
“'Satisfied' is a difficult word to use when you're talking about the loss of your only child,” Crandall said. “I think saying they were accepting of the disposition and avoiding the uncertainties of a jury trial, and any possible appeals, would be more appropriate.”
Heitkamp's mother, Mary Jo France, and injured passenger Susan Hodell have filed separate civil lawsuits against Weimer.
Weimer, of Pompey, said he was piloting the boat that crashed into Alger Island State Campground on Fourth Lake in Old Forge in July 2006, killing 20-year-old Tiffany Heitkamp of Syracuse.
The boat was going so fast it came to rest 150 feet inland from the shore. Four other passengers were hurt in the wreck.
Under the plea agreement, Weimer will receive two to six years in state prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26.
Weimer had also faced a charge of second-degree manslaughter, which would have carried a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison if he was found guilty after trial.
“It was absolutely not an accident,” said District Attorney John Crandall. “It was a crime pure and simple.”
State police said Weimer had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, higher than the state limit of 0.08.
He was originally charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and reckless operation of a vessel. He had previously pleaded innocent.
After the crash, Weimer left his friends and swam to his family's camp on Thistle Island, about a quarter-mile away. Troopers said they found him leaving the water.
Troopers who arrested Weimer said he at first denied he had been driving the boat. At the time of the crash, Weimer, a college student, was free on his own recognizance on a pending DWI charge in East Syracuse.
According to police and witness accounts, a group of six people piled into a boat around midnight July 22, 2006, to go to Daiker's bar, less than a mile away across the water, state police said. They left about 90 minutes later, with Weimer driving the 19-foot, 2000 Four Winns speedboat, troopers said.
In the approximately 1,000 feet from Daiker's to Alger Island, the boat accelerated so fast that it hit the island and flew 150 feet inland, slamming into trees and ripping a lean-to off its concrete foundation.
According to court documents, Weimer had glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and was uncooperative when state police interviewed him.
Crandall said he decided to accept Weimer's plea after he discussed the circumstances with Heitkamp's family. However, it would not be appropriate to say that her family was “satisfied” with Weimer's guilty plea, he added.
“'Satisfied' is a difficult word to use when you're talking about the loss of your only child,” Crandall said. “I think saying they were accepting of the disposition and avoiding the uncertainties of a jury trial, and any possible appeals, would be more appropriate.”
Heitkamp's mother, Mary Jo France, and injured passenger Susan Hodell have filed separate civil lawsuits against Weimer.
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