Charges laid in 2018 P.E.I. lobster boat collision that took 2 lives

A man from the Murray River area has been charged in a June 2018 boat collision that killed two men.

Clarence Barry White of Dover Road, 51, is charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death.

He's also charged with two counts of failing to keep lookout, under the Canada Shipping Act.

White has not yet entered pleas in the case, which came up in provincial court in Georgetown on Thursday.

The accused was not in court; his lawyer represented him by phone because of COVID-19 rules. White is scheduled to be back in Georgetown court on Aug. 13.

The two lobster boats collided off Beach Point two years ago.

Joel '98 sank after White's boat Forever Chasin' Tail hit it, taking the lives of 20-year-old Justin MacKay from P.E.I. and 59-year-old Chris Melanson from Nova Scotia.

Three other people on board Joel '98 managed to climb aboard White's boat.

An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board determined Forever Chasin' Tail was on autopilot at the time of the crash.

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