Injured diver testifies in trial against boater who hit him

STUART, Fla. - More than 18 months after a boat severed his legs, diver Rob Murphy explained to a Martin County court in chilling detail, the moments before he was hit.

"I saw the giant brass propeller five  feet or less away and all I could do was try to roll away and get away from him," he told the court, testifying from his wheelchair.

His diving partner Lisa Rollins was swimming 15 feet below while Murphy was floating on the surface.  She watched the collision.

"The boat came crashing into him. I never saw it motoring over, it was top speed," she testified.

Diver Barry Blackwell says the boat grazed him, too.

"It was 20 to 25 feet away when it turned literally dead at Rob Murphy and myself," he said.

The defendant, ER doctor Roger Nicosia, told investigators he swerved to avoid the divers' boat which was moving toward him. He said he had no idea there were divers in the water.

Prosecutors played an audio recording of an interview Nicosia did with state investigators immediately following the January 2009 crash.

"Did you see any dive flags on the vessel or did you see a dive flag in the water?" asked the investigator.  "No," replied Nicosia.

The defense pointed out the divers' boat did have a red dive flag, but argued it was improperly posted, and partially obscured and that the divers themselves did not have flags in the water.

But state investigators testified Nicosia should have slowed down when he approached the boat and done more to avoid a collision.

Dr. Nicosia is expected to testify in his own defense when the trial resumes Wednesday.

The charges against him: violation of navigational rights - a second degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Nicosia is also the defendant in a civil case associated with this crash.