Published: June 26, 2008 05:33 am
Minors' kegger a major problem for water taxi operator By Bruno Matarazzo Jr. Staff writer
SALEM — A 20-year-old Ipswich man was arrested yesterday after police said he had a miniature keg of beer — as well as three underage passengers — aboard a water taxi he was steering in Salem Harbor.
Roger Fowler of 59 Northridge Road is charged with illegal possession of alcohol and was fired from his job at Salem Water Taxi, according to Salem Harbormaster Peter Gifford.
Police arrested Fowler after Steve Levesque, an assistant harbormaster on duty Tuesday night, heard a distress signal and then a danger signal while patrolling the harbor at 9:30 p.m.
Levesque believed the signal came from the water taxi and turned around his boat toward the other boat's direction, according to the harbormaster's incident report.
The taxi and the harbormaster's boat were headed for a head-on collision when Levesque reported he had to resort to "evasive action."
As the water taxi went by, he saw a male and female both at the helm, with two other passengers on board, the report said. None of those aboard the water taxi were of legal drinking age, Gifford said.
Levesque activated his blue lights and stopped the water taxi near the South River Channel. He said Fowler had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath.
Fowler was taken aboard the harbormaster's boat and the water taxi was towed to Central Wharf.
Levesque asked Fowler to perform a field sobriety test, but Fowler refused. Patrolman Ryan Davis later went to the scene and administered the test, which Fowler passed.
Levesque stopped Fowler from operating the boat for the night and allowed him and his friends to get their belongings from the water taxi. Levesque then saw two empty cans of beer, a full can of beer and a pony keg of Heineken beer that was a quarter full. The keg was on the floor of the taxi behind the console.
Police arrested Fowler for illegal possession of alcohol and negligent operation.
The Coast Guard was notified and will be reviewing Fowler's federal boating license, which he has in order to operate the water taxi.
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