Governor, aide left scene of boat wreck

ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE, N.M. (KRQE) - One mariner knew a collision with his own boat could not be avoided as a large houseboat with Gov. Bill Richardson aboard and an aide at the helm tried to dock Saturday at an Elephant Butte Lake marina.

No one was hurt in the 5:15 p.m. incident that damaged three boats and the marina. However Brian Condit, Richardson's chief of staff, was cited for negligent operation of the houseboat Bloody Mary.

Richardson told KRQE News 13 Wednesday that he was napping at the time.

"I think it's important that we get the facts out," Richardson said. "I was asleep. I confess I don't have all the details."

Carl Shaw, whose boat was moored in a slip at the Dam Site Marina slip, said he watched as the Bloody Mary began turning toward its own slip.

"We yelled knowing that the approaching houseboat being 100 feet long would not be able to turn without hitting us," Shaw said in a written statement contained in the police report. "As we yelled the driver of the houseboat increased the power and initiated a turn into their slip.

"The left rear of the incoming houseboat struck our boat and proceeded across the marina striking a houseboat."

The third board, the Floating Irish, sustained and estimated $10,000 in damage to its hull, superstructure and personal watercraft lashed to it.

The Bloody Mary, described in the report as 81 feet in length, is owned by Rio Rancho businessman Leon Fay who said he took the helm only after Condit called for help.

"I regained control too late and was unable to stop the collision," Fay said in his statement to investigators. Condit "gunned" the engine as the Bloody Mary struck the first boat, Fay added.

Condit, in a statement released by the governor's office Wednesday, admitted he was in over his head and would not contest the citation.

"While I have experience with boats, I was not experienced enough to attempt to navigate an 80-foot boat into the marina," Condit said in the statement.

Also aboard the Bloody Mary was Katherine Miller, Richardson's cabinet secretary of finance and administration.

Richardson called the accident minor and said no alcohol was involved. Fay also said alcohol was not involved, and Condit, who contacted Marine Enforcement Officer Chris Bolen two days after the collision, denied he had been drinking.

Fay remained with his boat, but separate witnesses told News 13 Condit, the governor and his entourage left before investigators arrived. Unlike an auto accident, it is not a crime to leave the scene of a boat wreck.

But because two days elapsed, it's impossible to know scientifically if alcohol had been consumed.

After receiving the incident report News 13 asked the governor's office why Richardson and the others left without waiting for investigators. As of late Wednesday the governor's office had not responded.