The lawyer for Captain John Cota who rammed his ship into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge last November said in a recent interview, “There’s absolutely no link between any of the medically prescribed medications that Captain Cota used on the morning of Nov. 7 and this incident.”
But I wonder if he was able to say it with a straight face?
Cota is facing federal civil charges and declined to testify at the hearing. He was taking anti-anxiety pills, Wellbutrin for depression and medications for pain, migraines, glaucoma and to combat his sleep apnea, among other prescriptions. ~ MSNBC
Speaking of links, see if you can identify the link between Captain Cota and another infamous captain recently in the news?
That’s right, both alcoholics.
Click “Read more” to continue…
Now I hate to be hard on a fellow alcoholic, but let’s be real. I would be willing to bet the mortgage this poor guy was doing the same thing most alcoholics do to function in a sober world… self medicate. There is a very good reason alcoholics have panic attacks and anxiety, it’s called a dangerously low blood alcohol content. We love benzo’s like the good captain’s Lorazepam to take the edge off, pain killers help with depression, and of course both are highly addictive. I definitely wouldn’t advise mixing them with a host of other prescriptions and then trying to pilot a thousand foot boat weighing in at 65,000 tons, because bad things usually happen when one is jonesing for a drink.
The “touch” caused a tear in the side of the ship – a gash 160 feet long and 4 feet deep – rupturing the fuel tanks. (click on picture for enlargements) Approximately 58,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the bay – the biggest oil spill there in 20 years. It was a historic event, too – the first time a ship had ever hit the Bay Bridge since work began on the suspension towers almost 74 years ago. ~ MasterMariners.org
I do understand the guy has other medical problems and could logically explain his drug use. But he is an alcoholic, he had a increasing pattern of troubling behavior, and that adds up to a “sure thing” in my book. Sorry, reality bites. Not trying to get all self righteous here, in fact I am speaking from past self experience so I’m guilty of similar behavior- minus the catastrophic oil spill;). My goal, as always, is too raise awareness of just how pervasive the problem of alcohol and drug abuse has become in our society and how willing we are to overlook it.
I wish Mr. Cota all the best- and hope he finds peace in recovery.
Correction 4-20-08: Mr. Hazelwood has contacted me personally to point out the fact that he was not convicted of being intoxicated during the Exxon Valdez tragedy nor has he been diagnosed an alcoholic.
From Wikipedia:
During Hazelwood’s trial following the accident, Alaska state prosecutors failed to convince the jury that Hazelwood was intoxicated at the time of the grounding. By his own admission, Hazelwood drank “two or three vodkas” between 4:30 and 6:30 that same night, his blood alcohol content was found to be .061. However, the defense argued that the blood samples were taken nearly ten hours after the incident and were mishandled. Most states, including Alaska, do not allow samples after three hours and a preservative required to halt fermentation was not added to the sample. Fermentation could have added to the amount of alcohol in the sample making the result invalid. As a result of the accident, in 1991 the United States Coast Guard suspended his masters’ license for a period of nine months. Hazelwood was acquitted on all felony charges, but was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil, fined $50,000, and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service.
