LOUISVILLE — A towboat captain told a Coast Guard hearing Wednesday he never saw a fishing boat struck by his vessel in partial fog on the Ohio River. Six fishermen died.

        Terry Graham, captain of the towboat Elaine G, said he kept close watch on the river, and monitored two radars, but was unaware of the collision until he heard a voice crying for help.

        “I never did take a look off the river,” said Mr. Graham, who wept and sobbed as he recounted the early morning collision on July 15.

        Mr. Graham said he never spotted the 16- to 18-foot fishing boat with his eyes or on radar.

        At one point, Mr. Graham needed a short break from testifying to regain his composure. Victims' relatives sat a few feet away in the federal courtroom, and some wiped their eyes during the questioning from Coast Guard Lt. William Adkins, the investigating officer.

        Mr. Graham's testimony came as a three-day Coast Guard hearing into the collision opened. The crash happened in a commercial shipping lane on the river 25 miles northeast of Louisville.

        In a separate development Wednesday, Dave Ommen, a spokesman for the coroner's office in Jefferson County, Ind., where the bodies were recovered, said incomplete toxicology results on the victims showed the presence of alcohol or drugs.

        He would not provide any more specific information, including the level of drugs or alcohol found in any of the victims. A medical examiner was scheduled to testify at the hearing today.

        Mr. Graham, 43, an 18-year towboat pilot, said Wednesday that partial fog shrouded the riverbanks at the time of the collision but he could see in front of him.

        Mr. Graham had taken over the lookout a short time before he heard the voice crying for help. He said he had gotten a good night's sleep and that his eyes were adjusted to the darkness.

        He said the towboat and barges were well lighted and an automatic foghorn was activated. The tow was moving about 6 mph, he said. As soon as he heard the plea, Mr. Graham said, he switched the engine to neutral, sounded the general alarm and ordered deckhands to look for people or debris in the river. Eventually debris was found, he said.

        The towboat stayed in the middle of the river for about 20 minutes, he said. Mr. Graham then had his vessel steered near shore and dispatched crew members in a skiff to continue the search, Mr. Graham said.

        In other testimony, a fishing buddy of the six men killed in the collision testified that the fishing boat needed rear lights.

        Alan Zetco of Crestwood said he noticed the problem when he was on the boat four days before the collision, but felt certain it would have been corrected. Mr. Zetco said he could not be sure the lights were fixed.

        The victims of the collision were William Young, 42, and John Beatty Jr., 34, both of Louisville; Robert Valentine, 36, and Terry Hites, 48, both of La Grange; Joe Lucas Jr., 40, of Shelbyville; and Benny Burgan, 34, of Crestwood.

        After the hearing, the Coast Guard investigator will issue a report about what happened.

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