Boat-barge crash leads to $8.1M in judgments

MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) -- A 2008 crash involving a power boat and a barge that killed three people and injured two others has led to $8.1 million in judgments against the barge owner. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports $7.5 million was awarded by default last year to the estates of the three people killed when the boat they were riding in crashed into the 120-foot barge in a bay just off of Lake St. Clair. The boat's operator was awarded $200,000 and another passenger was awarded $400,000. The money, however, is currently uncollectible. The barge's owner went out of business and liability insurance was lacking. The crash happened over the 2008 Memorial Day holiday weekend. The sheriff's department cleared the barge's owner and the boat's operator of wrongdoing. Published: Wed, Jan 9, 2013