Former boat captain Sean Michael McDonald has been sentenced to seven years and one month in jail for a 2019 accident that claimed the lives of two people and injured another, when the two vessels collided on the way home after a day out at Rum Point.
McDonald, 39, was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and one count of endangering human life through a reckless and negligent act, following a judge-alone trial in August this year.
Former RCIPS police officer Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Brown, 49, and John Turner, 70, a British resident in Cayman, were killed in the night-time collision on 11 Aug. 2019.
The third person on board, a female passenger, was seriously injured when their boat, a Hurricane Deck, and the vessel McDonald was piloting, a 32-foot Scarab called the Pepper Jelly, collided near Harbour House Marina in Prospect. At the time of the incident, McDonald had been operating as a boat captain for 15 years.
“In a matter of moments, the lives of many have been changed forever,” said Grand Court Justice Cheryll Richards. “Children and grandchildren lost their fathers, and grandfathers.”
While summarising a victim impact report, Richards noted that Turner’s extended family was on island celebrating his grandson’s birthday when he died.
“His daughter says she remembers coming home to discover that her father had not yet returned,” said Richards. “She spoke of the nightmare, disbelief, grief and difficulties the family, extended family and friends have endured and continue to endure as they continue to suffer in constant grief.”
Turning her attention to the family of Brown, Richards said, “His eldest son has described a constant state of anguish and hurt, and the anger and pain he feels over having lost his father who was his best friend.”
Richards continued, “Brown’s death has led to a family home being sold as a result of the sudden loss of income.”
A victim impact report from the third victim, Brown’s then partner, details how she learned of the deaths after awakening from a coma in extreme pain.
“She recalls having to go through physiotherapy to relearn how to walk, talk and do other basic things for herself,” said Richards.
When handing down her judgment, Richards said McDonald “must face up to the reality of his actions”.
GPS data from the boat showed that minutes before the accident McDonald was travelling in excess of 35 miles per hour in a 5mph no-wake zone, and at the time of the impact he was travelling between 42 and 52mph.
With knowledge of the risks, he chose to do what he did, Richards said, adding he had “no one to blame but himself”.
For the majority of the time as the sentence was read out, McDonald sat silent, with his eyes closed and head slightly lowered. Afterwards, he offered a tearful apology to Turner’s daughter, who attended the proceedings via Zoom.
“I am so, so sorry… if i could trade places with them and bring them back I would,” he said, before eventually hugging and kissing his loved ones and going down to the cells below the courthouse.
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