A 19-year-old young woman, identified as Sarah Flanagan of League City, Texas was killed when the personal watercraft she was operating on Choctawhatchee Bay was struck by a 30-foot boat operated by 76-year-old Johnny Pope of Shalimar, Florida.
The Southern District of Florida has ruled that a cruise passenger trip and fall accident case can proceed to trial over a motion filed by Celebrity Cruises to dismiss the case. In this case, a passenger aboard the Celebrity Summit was walking towards the front of the ship through the Rendezvous Lounge after the mandatory muster drill. While passenger turned the corner to exit the lounge, he tripped and fell to the floor. The passenger claimed that the base of a small table caused his fall. The trip and fall accident resulted in a shoulder injury.
The FBI and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the disappearance of a 41-year-old Florida woman 100 km off Key West. Isabella Hellman and her husband, Lewis Bennett, married in February and departed on a Caribbean vacation on their 37-foot catamaran with planned stops in St. Maarten and Cuba as part of a belated honeymoon.
Chance Rivero, a 19-year-old Vero Beach resident was killed Saturday night when the boat he was a passenger of hit a channel marker, ejecting him from it and into the water. Per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation the boat, the 17-foot Carolina Skiff was carrying six people on board, heading north in the Indian River Lagoon, when it struck an Intracoastal Waterway channel marker a mile south of the Alma Lee Loy Bridge. After the impact, Rivero was thrown into the water and the boat was able to turn around and pull him out of the lagoon. Michael Ketcham, 20, was also injured in the mishap sustaining lacerations on his spleen and other potential internal injuries. Although the accident is still under investigation, it appears to be alcohol related. We extend our deepest condolences to Rivero’s family and loved ones and wish Ketcham a speedy recovery.