Report: ‘No basis’ found to separate lieutenant in USS Fitzgerald collision

A Navy board of inquiry found no reason to remove from the service a lieutenant charged last year in the fatal collision of the USS Fitzgerald, according to a report Monday by U.S. Naval Institute News.

Lt. Irian Woodley was accused of failing in his duties the day the guided-missile destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship in the waters south of Japan on June 17, 2017. Seven sailors died as a result of the collision.

After an Article 32 hearing in July, the charges against Woodley — dereliction in the performance of duties through neglect resulting in death, negligent hazarding of a vessel and negligent homicide — were dropped. In an Article 32 hearing, like a preliminary hearing in civilian court, a military court rules whether enough evidence exists to take a criminal case to trial.

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