VIDEO: By the time the scuba dive boat sank off the Southern California coast after catching fire, 34 people had been killed in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.
The Labor Day tragedy in 2019 spurred changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits. Now four years later, a federal trial for the Conception's captain, Jerry Boylan, is set to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Los Angeles.
It's been a long, frustrating wait for the families of those who perished. They say a judge's ruling that their loved ones should not be called “victims” at trial has only added to their pain.
“The past four years have been like living in a nightmare that you don’t wake up from,” said Kathleen McIlvain, whose 44-year-old son Charles was killed.
The 75-foot boat was anchored off the Channel Islands, about 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, on Sept. 2, 2019, when it caught fire before dawn on the last day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet from shore.