Crime & Safety

DiGilio Case Could Hinge on Right-of-Way, Lighting Issues

Expert: DiGilio's boat had right of way; prosecution: lack of lights made him forfeit right of way

Anthony DiGilio's guilt or innocence on charges of vehicular homicide and assault by vessel will likely hinge on a few specific issues: whether his boat's navigation lights were on at the time he collided with another boater, and whether his speed was reckless given the conditions on the water at the time.

The accident took place after 1 a.m. Aug. 3, 2008 near Gunner's Ditch, the area where the Metedeconk River and Barnegat Bay converge in Brick Township. The trial of DiGilio, a Brick resident, began Wednesday, over four years later.

Senior Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Hillary Bryce said in an opening statement in Superior Court in Toms River on Wednesday that she will present witness testimony from a security guard at the Wharfside Restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach as well as a fisherman in the Point Pleasant Canal that they saw DiGilio's boat running without lights.

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An expert witness, New Jersey State Police Staff Sgt. Karl Brobst, testified in court Wednesday that Digilio's boat likely had the right of way in the accident that killed Essex Fells resident Robert Post, 49, and injured two others, including Post's wife, Bonnie.

But Brobst also said under questioning by Ocean County Acting First Assistant Prosecutor William J. Heisler that if DiGilio's navigation lights were not on or not working at the time of the accident, he would forfeit the right of way and would have automatically become the "stand on" vessel in any crossing of paths with another boat.

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"All vessels, regardless of the right of way, have an obligation to avoid a collision," under federal navigation rules that have been adopted by the state of New Jersey, Brobst said.

All boaters have the added responsibility to maintain a "constant lookout at the horizon" when underway, he added.

After opening statements were delivered in the case Wednesday morning, a nearly three hour-long presentation on inland marine navigation rules was given to jurors during the prosecution's questioning of Brobst, including a PowerPoint presentation Brobst helped develop.

Brobst said on the witness stand that he has over 25 years of experience in the state police's marine division and 28 years as a U.S. Coast Guard active and reserve enlistee. He is also the state police's lead instructor on marine navigation rules, and was part of the team that located submerged pieces of wreckage from Post's boat following the accident using a remote submarine vehicle.

In the scenario reconstructing the collision of DiGilio's and Post's vessels, "the Whaler would be the give-way vessel," meaning DiGilio's 27-foot Imperial would have had the right of way. "The only option to the Whaler at this juncture would be to alter course to starboard [right]," Brobst testified under questioning from defense attorney Joseph Tacopina.

Bryce also said evidence will show flaps that cover the lights during daytime operations to improve the boat's speed and performance were not raised at night to allow the lights to be visible.

If a boat does not have its navigation lights on, "you lose all protections," said Brobst, under questioning from Heisler.

"When your lights are extinguished, you forfeit your right of way in all situations," he said.

Tacopina would later get Brobst to testify that the forfeiture of right of way in the absence of running lights is not included in New Jersey law, though it is included in federal rules.

Still, "the safety of the operator as well as everyone on the vessel is dependant on those lights," said Brobst.

The prosecution has also alleged that DiGilio's vessel was travelling at a reckless rate of speed, between 51 and 69 m.p.h., at the time of the crash.

Under questioning from Tacopina, however, Brobst said there is no numerical speed limit in the area where the crash occurred, and speed on the waterway is regulated by the conditions at a given time.


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