LONG BEACH : Couple Sue Catalina Express Over Fatal Boat Accident

A La Puente couple said Tuesday that a Catalina Channel Express vessel “carelessly” sped close by their small, crowded pleasure boat off San Pedro last month, capsizing the little boat in an accident that took the life of their 3-year-old son.

Anthony and Elena Romero made their claim in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed Tuesday in Long Beach Superior Court.

The Romeros say their 24-foot boat--with 19 people--was floating near a navigation buoy about three-quarters of a mile outside one of the entrances to Los Angeles Harbor on Sept. 4 when a 100-foot Catalina Express vessel sped by “at such high speed and in such close proximity” that the wake swamped and overturned the smaller boat.

Adam Romero died when he was trapped in the submerged cabin, and three children were hospitalized with hypothermia after spending several hours in the water before help arrived. The couple deny Coast Guard suggestions that their boat may have been overloaded.

A spokeswoman for Catalina Channel Express declined comment pending further study of the lawsuit. The Coast Guard said it has yet to determine the cause of the accident.

However, navigation charts warn that the pilot area in which the Romeros were fishing is reserved for vessels--like the Catalina express boat--that are entering or leaving the harbor. Officials said there are no specific speed limits outside the harbor.