Pilot Charged in Oil-Spill Crash
March 21, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilot of a ship that spilled 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay after crashing into a bridge last November has been charged with criminal negligence and breaking environmental laws.
Capt. John Cota faces misdemeanor charges, including harming migrant birds protected by the government and violating the Clean Water Act.
Cota was at the helm of the container ship Cosco Busan during the Nov. 7 collision with the Bay Bridge, causing a spill that killed more than 2,000 birds.
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