Police say alcohol a factor in deadly boating accident

HULL, Mass. -- A prominent man in the boating community was arrested and faces serious charges after a woman was killed in a boating accident over the weekend.

Police say Lloyd Thompson was drunk when he drove his boat into a sailboat moored in Hull, throwing two women overboard. One died.

Thompson is the vice commander of the Winthrop Yacht Club. Police said the accident happened when Thompson was pulling his boat into a Hull harbor. He struck the WildThing, a sailboat. Now one of his passengers is dead.

The 26-foot boat, the Capt’n Jack, was pulled from the water in Hull on Monday. It was wrapped in yellow crime scene tape with damage to its right side. The boat had eight to 10 people on board at the time of the accident.

Two people were tossed overboard. Police said 55-year-old Regina Mosher was pulled from the water unconscious. She died in the hospital on Sunday morning.

“A group from the Winthrop Yacht Club entering the harbor…at that time this boat struck a sailboat,” said Chief Richard Billings of the Hull Police Department. “We’re still getting statements from witnesses. Some of the witnesses at the time were quite hysterical.”

Thompson declined to comment Monday. He was charged with homicide by operating a boat under the influence of alcohol.

In addition to alcohol, the police are looking into speed as a factor in the accident. The 33-foot sailboat, the WildThing, was in a no-wake zone with a 6-mile-per-hour speed limit. Investigators are looking into the incident.

“What goes through my mind is you’ve gotta be awful careful out on the water,” Tom Fisher said. “Because things can happen so quickly and anything can happen out there.”

Thompson was being held Monday on $1,500 cash bail. He is due back in court next month. According to the police report, Thompson admitted to having two or three drinks prior to the crash.

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