by Keith T. Barber
Nearly one month after his CSY-44 sailboat collided with the Heide Trask drawbridge, captain Sterling Stevenson got the answer he hoped to hear. Last Thursday, David Crawford of the State Attorney General’s Office visited Stevenson at Anchors Away Boatyard in Hampstead to finalize a settlement agreement.
Stevenson said Crawford made a settlement offer of $72,000 to cover the damages to his Bluewater Cruiser, Marijke IV, caused by the drawbridge lowering onto its mast, as well as his personal expenses resulting from the Sept. 10 collision.
“I think it’s fair to me and fair to the people of North Carolina,” Stevenson said. “I’ve had confidence for some time this was going to be settled equitably after speaking with a number of people from the state. Mr. Crawford has been very
supportive. They wanted to do the right thing.”
Crawford confirmed that a settlement was reached, but said he could not disclose the amount.
“We reached an agreement. Mr. Stevenson was not guilty of any negligence. Everybody’s happy, and I’m glad for him,” Crawford said.
Allen Pope, division engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT), said a full investigation by his office and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission revealed negligence on behalf of the state, as well as areas where safety could be improved.
“My conclusion from the maintenance side is that there was some contributory negligence,” Pope said. “There is a blind spot on the north side of the bridge. We’re going to address the issue of boats that idle on the west side of the channel.”
Pope said some of the safety improvements he plans on recommending will include the replacement of windows in the bridge house to improve visibility, relocating existing closed-circuit television cameras, adding cameras to address the issue of blind spots, and improving the layout of the bridge operator’s workstation. Pope said safety issues raised by the department’s report should be resolved within the next 30 days.
Pope would not say whether or not his department’s internal investigation revealed bridge operator Wanda Ramsey to be at fault in the accident.
Ramsey has served more than 25 years as a bridge tender.
“The state of North Carolina has a lot of good people working for it. We all make mistakes. Whether or not a mistake was made in this case I can’t tell you, but the optimum outcome was to fix Mr. Stevenson’s boat, and that’s what we’re doing,” Pope said.
Stevenson, a retired newspaper publisher from Maryland, said he has been so touched by the outpouring of good will since his accident that he’s
decided to settle in the area.
“I feel as though I’ve made some new friends,” he said. “I want to reiterate how everybody in Wrightsville Beach and Wilmington has been so wonderful to me.”
Bill Lowe, owner of Anchors Away Boatyard, began repairs to Stevenson’s boat just days after the accident, and offered to fix Marijke IV even if Stevenson never received a dime from the state.
“I’m happy for him and happy we’ll get some work out of it, too,” Lowe said.
