DA: Woman dies, another victim in critical condition after sailboat, motorboat collide off Weymouth

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A woman has died from her injuries and a second victim remains hospitalized in critical condition after a sailboat and motorboat collided in the water off Weymouth in August, authorities announced Tuesday.

The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said it has launched a death investigation into a collision involving a 38-foot motorized Sea Ray vessel and a 21-foot Pisces sailboat that occurred in the area off Grape Island on the afternoon of Aug. 16.

One of the victims hurt in the wreck, 70-year-old Patricia Cicalese, of Walpole, has since died from her injuries, the DA’s office said. The other victim, whose name hasn’t been released, continues to fight for their life in the hospital.

“Prosecutors and Massachusetts State Police detectives from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office have assumed jurisdiction and are working in concert with the Massachusetts Environmental Police to investigate this death,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said in a statement.

Cicalese was on the sailboat when it was struck by the motorboat, a Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Christopher Ahlborg stated in an affidavit filed in Quincy District Court.

Video captured by a Boston 25 News photographer showed the sailboat gradually sinking as emergency response boats flocked to the scene of the crash.

“The sailboat had capsized and the motorboat somehow attached and hung up on the sailboat,” Ahlborg wrote in the affidavit.

Ahlborg said the motorboat captain was bringing his vessel back up to speed after leaving a “no wake zone” when he spotted a small fishing boat crossing in front of him less than a mile away. At the same time, Ahlborg said the captain was “trying to pay attention” to the speed of another vessel he was traveling with.

“When he turned his head back, he saw the sailboat, but it was too late,” Ahlborg stated in the affidavit. “He tried to turn hard to the starboard side but could not avoid the collision.”

The boat captain and his wife were “visibly traumatized” but not injured in the crash. They told investigators that they were heading to Gloucester for the weekend at the time of the collision.

Ahlborg noted in the affidavit that he believes “probable cause exists that digital forensic evidence may exist within the marine electronics for the potential violations of reckless or negligent operation of a motorboat.”

In the affidavit, Ahlborg stated that he’s requested a search warrant to forensically examine a GPS device, and trained personnel with the United States Coast Guard Investigative Services would be asked to extract “pertinent” electronic and historical data.

There have been no criminal charges filed in connection with the crash. Anyone with information is urged to contact the DA’s office at 781-830-4990.

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