Closure elusive for barge accident families

The day after a boating accident changed his life, Melvin Wilkey shot a hard stare across the Tennessee River, watching men in helicopters searching for his lost brother.

It was Day Two of what became a 62-hour search for Soddy-Daisy native Richard Wilkey, 52, who died after a commercial barge liner collided with his small fishing boat on June 19.

Richard Wilkey was a native of Soddy-Daisy and the youngest of 14 children. Better known as Ricky, he's the fifth sibling to die before Melvin Wilkey.

"It's been hard for me in trying to imagine that barge pushing him under like that," said the 62-year-old Mr. Melvin Wilkey. "Knowing what he had to go through for a terrible death -- there won't be closure for me for years to come."

Richard Wilkey's 30 years of fishing has his family wondering what went wrong.

"There are too many questions without answers," said Sandra Smith, one of his many nieces. "Ricky was too experienced on the river for this to happen."

Tim Spidle, 45, of Elizabethton, Tenn., also died in the accident.

Investigators with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard are continuing to investigate the incident, drawing information from interviews and forensics on the boats.

They are particularly concerned with whether the boats were being operated with an adequate lookout, which all boats are required to have at all times, whether stopped or under way.

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A preliminary report on the investigation is scheduled to be filed next week.

The barge was driven by a tugboat called the Bearcat, which is owned by Serodino, Inc. of Chattanooga.

The same Bearcat was involved in a similar deadly collision with a fishing boat on Watts Bar Lake on June 26, 2009. The accident, which took place in Loudon County, Tenn., killed Jones Bower Bare, 53, of Trap Hill, N.C.

Though no criminal charges were brought against either party in that case, the Coast Guard investigation is pending, as is a civil wrongful death lawsuit brought against Serodino by Mr. Bare's widow.

Representatives from Serodino have continually declined to comment on both incidents.

As the families await answers from the investigation of the Tennessee River collision, they have found solace in each other and in workers involved in the recovery process.

Melvin Wilkey said relatives and the recovery teams made the questions bouncing around his head a little easier to bear.

"You wouldn't believe how many phone calls I've got," he said. "A huge thank-you for the rescue squad and all the support they gave."

Richard Wilkey worked as a custodian at Falling Water Elementary School for more than 25 years. His brothers said he loved to pitch horseshoes, cook outside and go fishing.

"He was a country boy," Melvin Wilkey said.

Mr. Spidle moved to the area from Battle Creek, Mich., three years ago. He worked at the Volkswagen plant construction site and had four children, all of whom live in Michigan.

In an e-mail, his stepbrother, Todd Thurman, described his last conversation with Mr. Spidle.

"He said how he loved living on the side of a mountain," Mr. Thurman wrote. "He enjoyed fishing. He loved hanging out with his friends and family and loved his children very much."

Staff Writer Kate Harrison contributed to this story.

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