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Drunk Thurston County Boater Sentenced In Nisqually River Deaths

In June, 43-year-old Vincent Farler of Olympia, WA, was operating a boat under the influence of alcohol when his boat capsized and killed two children and one adult on the Nisqually River. This week, the drunk boater was sentenced to over six years in jail after pleading guilty to three count of homicide by watercraft. It is a class A felony, plus the charge of boating under the influence.

Farler entered an Alford plea, which means that although he does not directly admit guilt, he does admit that there is enough evidence to convict him of the crime in question.

On June 12, 9-year-old Cameron McCartney, 5-year-old Sean McCartney, their mother, Erin, and 32-year-old Brian Pierce, boarded the boat of Farler, who admitted that he had been drinking earlier in the evening at Cedar Tavern Inn. Erin McCartney also brought alcohol onto the vessel. At the trial, it was confirmed that she brought a bottle of brandy aboard and that Farler had been drinking beer before boarding the boat.

A witness that night, who saw the accident from a campsite on shore, said that the boat capsized during an ill-advised u-turn to avoid a logjam. The boat hit the logjam at full force and only Farler and Erin McCartney were able to swim to safety. Farler's blood alcohol level was recorded at more than twice the legal limit, 0.19.

No one on board at the time, including the children, were wearing life jackets at the time of the accident. Erin's husband, who was serving in Iraq at the time of the accident, was ordered back to the states on emergency leave in the wake of the accident.

According to KOMO, an ex-girlfriend of Farler told authorities that he had had a similar boating accident four years ago, although that boating accident did not result in injury or death. At that point, in 2004, the flipped boat did not hurt anyone so the authorities were not contacted.

Read More About Drunk Thurston County Boater Sentenced In Nisqually River Deaths...

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