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82 year old Billionaire C.E.O. Kills 48 year old woman in speed boat accident

Posted: 09-10-10Category:

[caption id="attachment_2007" align="alignleft" width="150"]Williams Brothers Construction Company C.E.O. Doug Pitcock's wrecked speed boat Williams Brothers C.E.O. Doug Pitcock's wrecked speedboat--[/caption] A wrongful death case in the making: The 82 year old operator of a speeding boat that crashed and killed a 48 year old woman over the holiday weekend was none other than James Doug Pitcock Jr., the CEO of Williams Brothers Construction Co., the state's largest highway construction company.

Pitcock, 82, was treated at Hermann Memorial Hospital in the Medical Center for injuries he received in the accident Sunday morning. Hospital officials said Thursday that Pitcock requested no further information be released.

Pitcock's companion on the outing, Kingwood resident and family friend Marilyn Ruth McCormick, 48, died Sunday at the hospital. Her son, Gage McCormick-Metoyer, 9, is in good condition at Children's Memorial Hospital in the Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

McCormick, a 1983 graduate of Texas A&M University, was a well-regarded math teacher in the Houston area, according to her obituary.

League City Sgt. David Hausam with Clear Lake police said experts from his department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are reconstructing the accident. Investigators are also waiting on toxicology reports to determine whether Pitcock was impaired at the time of the accident.

"Due to the fact that there was a fatality, we are doing a criminal investigation,“ Hausam said.

Employees at Williams Brothers Construction, at 3800 Milam, would not discuss the accident and referred inquiries to corporate counsel Dean Blumrosen. He did not return repeated calls for comment.

Pitcock made a 911 call at 10:32 a.m. Sunday reporting he had crashed his boat into the woods near the FM 270 boat ramp and Clear Creek Nature Park. Police said they believe Pitcock lost control of the boat, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, and it hit the creek bank and went airborne approximately 100 to 150 feet.

Pitcock remained in the boat as it careened through a stand of large trees, but McCormick and her son were ejected from the boat before it came to rest. The boat was a 23-foot fiberglass Seadoo, and police photos of the crashed boat show a stencil on the stern indicating it has a powerful 510-hp engine.

"The area where the accident happened is a small inlet ... and my guess is he was trying to make a turn and lost control and ended up in the woods," Hausam said. "It could have been his hand slipped off the steering wheel it could have been a lot of things.“

Hausam said there were no witnesses to the crash, and Pitcock declined to give a statement to investigators at the hospital on Sunday.

Pitcock and two other Houstonians, brothers J.K Williams and C.K. Williams, formed Williams Brothers Construction Co. in 1955, according to the company website. Pitcock bought out the brothers. The firm has completed 350 projects with a total value of more than $2 billion, making it Texas' largest highway contractor.

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