Emotional passenger uses trial to confront crew member charged in ferry sinking

VANCOUVER – A man who was on the Queen of the North ferry when it sank is still distraught and used his testimony to confront the crew member charged with the deaths of two fellow passengers.

Both Lawrence Papineau and his wife were on the ferry the night it sank in March 2006, and they are the latest witnesses in Karl Lilgert’s trial for criminal negligence.

Papineau entered the courtroom and offered Lilgert a firm stare as he walked to the witness stand.

He then broke into tears even before he began recounting what happened when the ferry’s collision with an island forced a nighttime evacuation at sea.

He stared at Lilgert again and raised his voice as he said everyone on the ship performed remarkably “except for the guy driving the boat.”

Once in the water that night, Papineau painted a chaotic scene in his life raft, as he shouted orders at a crew member and other passengers or told them to be quiet.