Doctor Guilty In Boating Accident That Took Man's Legs - West Palm Beach News Story - WPBF West Palm Beach
Doctor Guilty In Boating Accident That Took Man's Legs
Judge Rules Doctor Violated Navigational Rules
STUART, Fla. -- An emergency room doctor has been found guilty of a boating accident that caused a man to lose his legs.
Roger Nicosia was found guilty Wednesday on the second day of his non-jury trial at the Martin County courthouse.
A Martin County judge ruled that Nicosia violated U.S. Coast Guard navigational rules last year after his boat's propeller severed Rob Murphy's legs.
In January 2009, Murphy was diving and spear fishing with friends in the Atlantic Ocean, nearly five miles east of the St. Lucie inlet. Moments after Murphy surfaced, the boat's propeller struck him and severed his legs below the knee.
[Rob Murphy lost his legs after a boat's propeller struck him while he was diving and spear fishing in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.]
Rob Murphy lost his legs after a boat's propeller struck him while he was diving and spear fishing in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.
Nicosia could face up to two months in jail and a $500 fine.
Murphy testified in court that there was a dive flag near the boat, but Nicosia still came in his direction.
Boater found guilty in 2009 boating accident that cost diver his legs TCPalm Mobile
Boater found guilty in 2009 boating accident that cost diver his legs
By Melissa E. Holsman
Updated Wednesday, August 18, 2010
STUART - Roger Nicosia broke down in tears late Wednesday morning after Martin County Judge Kathleen Roberts ruled he was in violation of navigational rules during a 2009 boating accident that cost a diver his legs.
Roberts, in front of a packed courthouse, found Nicosia guilty of the second-degree misdemeanor. After a short recess, the judge is expected to sentence Roberts, who faces up to 60 days in the county jail and a $500 fine.
While exiting the courtroom, Robert Murphy, who was struck by Nicosia's boat propellers while diving in January 2009, said, "Truth and justice prevailed."
Following the verdict, Nicosia was seen outside the courtroom physically upset.
Nicosia was driving his 41-foot boat, the Master Plan, when it ran over Murphy as he and friends were diving about 4 ½ miles north of the St. Lucie Inlet.
When Murphy testified, he told Assistant State Attorney Adam Guzi that when he surfaced for what was his fifth dive that day, he didn’t think much when he heard Nicosia’s boat at a distance, motoring toward him.
From about 100 feet away from their 36-foot boat the Dykoke, Murphy signaled to its owner, Jon Michael Newman, that he was alright.
That quickly changed.
As Murphy saw the Dykoke coming toward him, he also saw the Master Plan “bearing down” about 1,000 feet away, he said. He couldn’t see anyone on the boat looking at him, so he decided he had to take evasive action to avoid being hit.
“I had a 55-inch spear gun that I had gripped from the very bottom . . . and my other arm, waving like this,” Murphy said, his arms above his head. “But it was clear that . . . nobody acknowledged my signals.”
He screamed, yelled and waved his arms. But the boat headed for him at about 25 knots, Murphy said. He saw the Dykoke turn to get between him and Nicosia’s boat.
“I kicked as hard as I could . . . and covered about 20 feet,” he said, “which would have brought me out of the path of the Master Plan.”
He kept kicking, but then the Master Plan made a correction to the right, Murphy said, which brought the boat “basically right on top of me.”
“I saw the giant brass propellers coming straight at my head from less than five feet away and all I could do was just try to roll away and get away from it,” recalled Murphy, “and at that point the propeller hit my tank and my legs.”
He screamed as he surfaced.
“The water went completely red,” he testified as a hushed courtroom listened. “And the Dykoke was right there . . . and they had me on the boat in seconds.”
Under cross examination by defense attorney Bob Watson, Murphy suggested Nicosia purposely targeted him.
“I was right in front of them waving,” Murphy said, “he turned right at me,”
“Is it your perception,” Watson asked, “that he was trying to hit you?”
“When I got out of his way,” Murphy replied, “he came back at me, and that was the only conclusion I could draw.”
Watson reminded Murphy that he initially told Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators he believed he lost his legs in an accident.
“That was before I heard the verbal statement by Dr. Nicosia,” Murphy said. “That he saw us and approached at a high rate of speed without ever slowing down . . . and my interpretation is that he wanted to get where he was going to get and he didn’t care who was in his way.”
Earlier, Newman recalled seeing Nicosia’s boat and when it appeared it would impact his divers, he said he moved the Dykoke to shield his divers.
But Newman watched Nicosia change course, placing the Master Plan nearly on top of Murphy.
“We were yelling directly at the people when they were coming across our bow,” Newman said.
When the state played the mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard, the dramatic cries for help prompted strong reactions, and a visibly shaken Murphy sobbed from his wheelchair, positioned just feet away from Nicosia.
