A passenger aboard Cazola Jr who has been identified before the maritime commission of inquiry as the vessel’s lookout on July 18 repeatedly denied holding that responsibility, insisting he was simply seated at the front of the boat when the fatal collision occurred.
Janel Butcher, also known as “Movado”, maintained that position during questioning on Wednesday, as commissioners challenged differences between his testimony, his police statement and accounts given by other witnesses.
The commission is investigating the July 18, 2026 collision involving Cazola Jr and Ocean Angel near Anse Cochon, on Saint Lucia’s west coast, which claimed four lives. Cazola Jr was returning to Soufriere after the Remedy event at Pigeon Island.
Butcher said he had travelled north aboard another boat and secured a ride back to Soufriere on Cazola Jr. Although he sat near the bow, at the front of the vessel, he denied being its lookout.
“I never say I was any lookout,” he told commissioners.
When a commissioner put it to him that others had identified him as the person performing that role, Butcher again rejected the claim. He explained that the front was where he usually preferred to sit when travelling by boat.
His account of a life jacket distributed during the return journey also drew scrutiny.
Butcher initially said the vessel stopped, he retrieved a life jacket from the front and a female passenger put it on. A commissioner challenged that account, saying other witnesses, including the woman herself, had testified that she requested the jacket for a male passenger, who wore it.
During later questioning, Butcher acknowledged that he had not seen who ultimately received or wore the jacket. He explained that he handed it over and returned to his seat facing forward.
“I never turn back to see if the girl have the life jacket,” he said, agreeing that his earlier account was based on an assumption that it was intended for her.
Butcher said he had also been offered a life jacket but declined it. He maintained that he could swim, while acknowledging that wearing one would have been safer.
Commissioners further questioned his recollection of who was operating Cazola Jr. He confirmed knowing Tyson Hippolyte and seeing him aboard, but initially said he could not remember who was captaining the vessel.
A commissioner read from his July 21 police statement, in which he identified Tyson as the person driving. Later in his testimony, while describing the retrieval of the life jacket, Butcher said Tyson had stopped the boat.
He described conditions along the route as calm in some areas and choppy in others. According to Butcher, the vessel’s owner had told the captain they were not in a rush. He maintained that the boat was not travelling very fast, although he provided no measured speed.
As the vessel approached Anse Cochon, Butcher said, he neither saw nor heard another boat before the impact threw him into the sea.
Asked whether he attempted to rescue anyone, he said he had to save himself.
His police statement, as read to the commission, described him swimming back to the damaged vessel, going to the steering position and attempting to move it towards shore before it sank.
Butcher acknowledged going to the steering position but maintained that he did not drive the boat because it would not operate.
“I went to the steering, yeah. But I never drive no boat,” he said.
Questions also centred on what he could see from his position before the collision. Butcher recalled red and green navigation lights aboard Cazola Jr but could not recall a white light. He said the raised bow prevented him from seeing reflections on the water immediately ahead.
When a commissioner suggested that he might have seen the other vessel and chosen not to alert anyone, Butcher rejected the suggestion.
“I did not see anything at all,” he said.
Throughout the hearing, commissioners challenged the consistency of his evidence. One suggested that he was repeating information heard from others rather than describing his own experience. Butcher denied that suggestion and maintained that he was recounting what he remembered.
He also said he drank only water at the event and did not consume alcohol. A commissioner challenged that assertion by referring to accounts attributed to others.
Asked whether he could provide further information to help establish how the four people died, Butcher said he could not.
The chair advised him that he could be recalled if the commission required further evidence before allowing him to stand down.
