I arrived in Subic shortly after the collision and the following is based on information I received through several sources at the time. I must emphasize that this is NOT an official account of the accident. The scenario leading up to the collision as relayed to me follows:
The Evans was on night sub screen detail off the port quarter (approx. 10-11 o'clock position) of the Melbourne with a Lt. J.G. as OOD (The skipper was asleep at the time). The OOD was operating under orders to wake the captain if there was any change to the ship's standing orders. The Melbourne radioed the Evans to take up plane guard detail approx. 1,000 yards to the stern of the Melbourne. We'll never know for sure what happened next but the OOD apparently decided it was a simple maneuver and without notifying the captain, ordered a sharp turn to starboard. By itself, this did not cause the accident as the Evans was far enough away from the Melbourne to safely complete the turn without crossing the carrier's path. However, the OOD neglected to notify the Melbourne of this maneuver and the OOD of the carrier assumed (incorrectly) that the Evans was about to cross the bow, possibly causing a collision. The Melbourne OOD then made the fateful decision to order a left full rudder to turn the carrier behind the apparent track of the Evans. Unfortunately, the Evans probably would have completed the turn except now the Melbourne was turning into the Evans, striking it on the port side just aft of the bridge. The skipper of the Evans survived, as the captain's cabin is located aft of the bridge. Since the skipper was asleep at the time and the OOD violated orders, the skipper was vindicated but his career was essentially over. Most of the crew lost on the Evans were asleep at the time. They were from the operations department which had it's berthing in the forward section which sank. It was mainly due the quick actions of the remaining crew closing watertight hatches that the stern was kept afloat preventing additional loss of life.
As I stated earlier, this is strictly non-official information but it was the best I was able to obtain at the time.
Thanks for the commentary and pinging the thread.