A six-month investigation has determined that no charges will be filed after a failed rescue attempt in which a woman died, strapped to a sinking boat.
Virginia Yates died in August when a rescue crew was attempting to transport her off the Connecticut River. In a 300-page report, the Sullivan County Attorney's Office said that no charges will be filed against members of the Cornish Fire Department or anyone else.
Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said that many mistakes were made in the rescue attempt.
"The risk became readily apparent only after the craft was under way," he said.
Yates twisted her ankle on a steep bank of the river. Three firefighters in a flat-bottomed airboat went to retrieve her. Investigators said that when the boat returned with Yates and an additional firefighter, it struck the wage from a passing motorboat.
In the report, Springfield, Vt., firefighter George Wheeler said that water started pouring over the front of the boat. He said that he tried to reach for Yates, but the boat began tipping forward.
The boat sank with Yates still strapped to bow. Hathaway said any number of factors could have changed things.
"If the boat was larger, if she was placed in a different place, if there had not been a wake," Hathaway said.
Investigators said they were troubled that there was no reason for Wheeler to get on the boat. They said the extra weight may have affected the positioning of the bow.
The investigation also found that the pilot of the boat had little training in water rescue. The manufacturer had also explained to the department that it was not really a rescue boat because it was too small.
Hathaway said that Yates' death was preventable, but there were no criminal actions.
"It could have ended differently with different circumstances, but that's not the question we're dealing with today," he said.
The impounded airboat will be returned to the Cornish Fire Department. Yates' estate is considering a lawsuit.
