A report by two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers places fault for a boat strike that killed a man snorkeling off Key West roughly two years ago on a fellow FWC officer.
Officer Glen Way and Lt. Joshua Peters issued a report to the FWC’s Office of the Inspector General, Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Office of Inspector General and the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office in April, stating that FWC officer Alexander Allen “caused the death to Mr. Devin Michael James Ordway.”
Way and Peters eventually helped locate and recover Ordway’s body from a channel on July 25, 2023, behind The College of the Florida Keys, just a day before the start of spiny lobster mini-season. Ordway was struck in the head by a propeller while he was looking for spots to harvest lobster, according to the report by Way and Peters.
Ordway was visiting the Florida Keys and had been diving on several spots on the bayside behind Key West looking for lobsters to harvest the next day, according to the FWC and FDLE. Ordway was on a small center-console Mako boat, and other members of his party were on another small Carolina Skiff. Allen approached the Carolina Skiff to conduct a safety inspection and then went to conduct a safety inspection of the Mako. The person aboard the Mako told Allen there was a “free diver” in the water, and Allen started searching for Ordway. Ordway was eventually found dead at the bottom of the channel.
Way and Peters released their report more than a year after the FWC asked the FDLE to investigate the fatal boat strike, because the FWC wanted an outside, independent agency. The FDLE report does not issue a finding of fault, but only “submits this investigative summary to the Office of the State Attorney for their review and disposition,” the report stated. The FDLE report also did not have a statement from FWC officer Allen, because he “did not provide a statement to investigators relating to the facts of this incident upon the advice of his attorney,” the FDLE report stated.
Way and Peters’ report cites the FWC boat as the source of the boat strike. In their report, Way and Peters stated the FWC “must be transparent.”
“The report was prepared to clarify my involvement and investigation regarding the incident which took place on Tuesday, July 25, 2022,” Way and Peter’s report stated. “This incident involved the death investigation of Devin Michael James Ordway. The initial investigation was conducted by Investigator Glen Way and I, Lieutenant Joshua Peters, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). During the initial investigation, I requested Captain David Dipre and Captain Jay Marvin to contact the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to assume the investigation. This request was due to factual evidence obtained by Inv. Way and I during the investigation. This factual evidence made clear of the involvement of FWC Patrol Vessel 1311976 by Officer Allen in relation to the marine death of Mr. Ordway.”
The officers came to their findings, in part, because the FWC was one of two boats transiting the area and the FWC was the only vessel that had a propeller that “can cause the smooth laceration found on the decedent,” the report stated. Way and Peters’ report also stated that the tracking equipment on Allen’s vessel “did not slow down to idle speed within 300 feet of the dive flag.”
“My conclusion is that FWC Patrol Vessel 131976 operated by FWC Officer Allen caused the death of Mr. Devin Michael James Ordway,” the officers wrote in the report.
Peters initially sent the report to the FWC’s Office of Inspector General as part of a whistleblower complaint. FWC passed it along to the FDLE’s Office of Inspector General. The FDLE Office of Inspector General stated the “complaint did not meet the criteria set fourth in Section 112.31895(a), Florida Statutes,” FDLE Office of Inspector General inspector Lourdes Howell-Thomas wrote in response.
“Therefore, a whistleblower investigation is not warranted,” Howell-Thomas wrote. “However, your complaint was forwarded to the FDLE Miami Regional Operations Center for further review and any action they deem appropriate.”
Way and Peters’ report comes roughly a year after Ordway’s girlfriend filed a negligence lawsuit against the FWC seeking damages on behalf of Ordway’s estate, his son and herself. The lawsuit contends Allen failed “to exercise reasonable care in the operation of the subject vessel; Negligently causing a collision” with Ordway, it stated. Allen failed “to take any reasonable precautions to avoid a collision,” failed “to keep an adequate and proper lookout while operating the subject vessel,” failed “to operate the subject vessel at a reasonably safe speed under the attendant circumstances” and operated “the subject vessel in a reckless and/or careless manner in violation of Fla. Stat. 327.33.”
“As a direct result of defendant Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s negligence and breaches of its duty of care, plaintiff Michelle Demers, on behalf of the estate of Devin Michael James Ordway and survivor Devin Ordway Jr., is entitled to recover damages that include, but are not limited to, the value of past and future loss of support and services, mental pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, loss of parental companionship, instruction and guidance, loss of earnings, loss of prospective net accumulations, and such other damages as are allowed under Florida law,” the lawsuit stated.
Demers’ attorney, Ira Leesfield, said the firm is currently in “settlement negotiations” with the FWC.
FWC board Chair Rodney Barreto declined to comment on the investigation and the lawsuit, citing advice from the FWC’s attorney, who called it ongoing litigation.
Most Popular
Comments / 0