Virginia Dive Boat Operator Found Negligent in Drowning

A Coast Guard administrative law judge has found a commercial diving boat operator negligent in a 2012 accident in which a Virginia Beach man drowned.

The Virginian-Pilot reports Administrative Law Judge Michael Devine on Monday suspended the marine license of Virginia Beach operator Rebecca Jo Bryson for one year.

Devine found Bryson sent two crew members to assist when 55-year-old Kevin J. Kraemer struggled to keep his head above water near Rudee Inlet in June 2012, but the crew didn’t take buoys, life vests and other equipment. Court documents show a crew member returned to the ship, put on full diving equipment, then returned to the water.

Kraemer was pronounced dead at a hospital after he lost consciousness about 10 minutes into the dive.