Blog Post

Investigations in Clear Lake, California Boat Accident Continues


June 02, 2008
Topic: Boating Accidents

Hearings are continuing in the boat accident case involving a Lake County deputy and a Carmichael man. The accident led to the death of a woman, whose family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both men involved in the boat accident.

The series of incidents that led to the boat accident on Clear Lake in 2006 are complicated. Many back and forth allegations have come out during the preliminary hearings, which will decide if the man charged with manslaughter in the boating accident will face a trial.

That man, Bismarck Dinius, was at the helm of a sailboat on April 29, 2006. The boat was owned by Mark Weber, who was also on the sailboat. A powerboat being driven by Lake County Chief Deputy Russell Burdock crashed into the sailboat. The impact was strong enough to send the powerboat flying over the sailboat, breaking its mast.

Later, Russell Purdock accused Dinius of not illuminating the sailboat, claiming that he could not see the sailboat in the darkness because of the absence of lights This seems to be the point of contention between the two men, with Dinius claiming that the main illuminating source at the front or rear end of the sailboat was switched on at the time of the accident.

Expert testimony in the hearings has oscillated between the two sides in the case. A Department of Justice investigation into the boating accident concluded that the light had been switched off. Later, a private lighting expert, however, found that the position of the lights and its angle revealed that it was actually switched on at the time of the boating accident.

The boat accident hearing has also been marked by allegations that Dinius has been made the scapegoat in an accident for which Purdock is equally to blame. There has been criticism of the way that the boating accident investigation has been handled. No charges have been filed against Russell Purdock.

Purdock lays the blame for the accident squarely on Dinius, and the point that the lights were switched off. Dinius has said that Purdock was speeding at the time of the accident, and has been supported in this allegation by an expert boating witness who says that the accident occurred due to Purdock's speeding.

As the hearings have proceeded, the case has gotten even more tangled in an web of civil lawsuits that have been brought by the parties against each other. The family of the woman who was killed in the boating accident, 51-year-old Lynn Thornton of Willow, has filed wrongful death lawsuits against both the men. Purdock has filed a lawsuit against Dinius that alleges emotional distress, while Dinius has in turn brought a lawsuit against Purdock for injuries received during the boating accident.

The hearings are expected to continue through June 10.

If you have been injured in a boating accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.