Key West Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: March 27, 2025

Child Still Missing Tuesday Following Fatal Florida Boating Accident

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is conducting the search for a child who remains missing as of Tuesday after a boating accident in North Florida that killed three people, officials say.

The incident happened 8 p.m. Friday when an 18-foot vessel carrying eight people flipped. Three bodies, including one child, were recovered from the water. Emergency responders were called out to the scene after passersby reported seeing the overturned vessel with at least “four people on top … and an additional four people possibly underneath,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

No one involved in the incident was wearing a life jacket, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard told reporters.

Published on: March 25, 2025

Wildfires Close Card Sound Road Thursday, officials say. What to Know About Leesfield & Partners’ Fire Litigation.

By Leesfield & Partners

Card Sound Road, one of the only ways in and out of the Florida Keys, will have intermittent closures Thursday morning due to fast-moving brush fires, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Thursday marks the third day in which the road saw shut downs due to the wildfires as firefighters continue to battle the flames. The road will have these closures for fire mitigation and air water drops.

The 14,000-acre, South Florida wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon in a largely rural area and, as of Thursday morning, was at least 20 percent contained, according to reporting from The Palm Beach Post.

Published on: March 25, 2025

Teenagers Who Went Missing on Paddle Board Were Found This Week by Good Samaritans.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two 16-year-olds who went missing Monday afternoon from the Cedar Key Fishing Pier north of Tampa were found on an oyster reef Tuesday morning.

The girls were found 14 miles from the pier where they launched their board. Officials say it was a combination of strong winds and waves that pushed the two out to sea. The two were reported missing by family and multiple agencies, who were out searching for them into the night. Several volunteer boaters were also out on the water looking for the girls.

Lt. Scott Tummond with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office told reporter with ABC news that the number of first responders they had out searching was “astounding.”

Published on: March 18, 2025

Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Florida Keys Man Accused of Sexually Abusing a Minor. How Leesfield & Partners has Protected Children for Decades.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Monroe County State Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty for a Florida Keys man police accused of filming himself raping a child multiple times, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

Micheal John Demerjian, 36, of Big Pine Key, in the Lower Keys, was in custody on unrelated charges on Jan. 17 when his phone was found by someone who purchased his car. On the phone, over 70 images and videos of the child, who is under 12 years old, were found. The images were reported to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The Key West Injury Lawyer Blog will not be publishing the age of the child or Demerjian’s connection to the minor to protect their identity.

Published on: March 13, 2025

Boat Captain Found Guilty of Passenger’s Propeller Death in 2020

By Leesfield & Partners

A Marion County diving boat captain was found guilty this week of seaman’s manslaughter in the death of a diver who tragically drowned during a propeller malfunction in March 2020.

A federal jury found Dustin Sean McCabe, 49, of Ocala, Florida, guilty this week on the seaman’s manslaughter charges as well as for lying to the Coast Guard and committing Covid-19 relief fraud, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Seaman’s manslaughter is a second-degree felony in Florida. Mcabe could face up to 10 years in prison for the seaman’s manslaughter charges, up to five years for lying to the coast guard and up to 20 years for the wire fraud.

McCabe is set to be sentenced June 12 before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon.

Published on: March 6, 2025

E-Bike Battery May Have Caused Key West Fire, officials say. How Leesfield & Partners Has Warned About This Danger for a Decade.

By Leesfield & Partners

A transportation device that Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has been warning communities about may have been responsible for a Key West fire, according to the city’s Fire Marshal.

Key West Fire Marshal Jason Barroso reminded the community in the Keys Weekly, a weekly newspaper, to be wary of lithium-ion batteries. His reminder comes after an initial assessment showed a local fire may have been caused by an e-bike battery.

The fire happened on Patricia Street on Feb. 25 and had fully engulfed a garage, causing significant damage. Thankfully, no injuries were reported but Barroso wanted to remind the community to follow manufacturer’s safety instructions for charging and storing of e-bikes.

Published on: March 6, 2025

Three Hospitalized Following Crash Monday on the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys

By Leesfield & Partners

Three people were airlifted to the hospital following a head-on crash on the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys Monday afternoon, according to reporting from local media.

The crash happened around 2 p.m. between a GMC Denali pickup truck and a BMW SUV. Photos from the Miami Herald show the mangled aftermath of the collision and first responders scrambling around the BMW, the front of both vehicles appeared to be crushed in photos.

The pickup was heading south and turned into the northbound lane and struck the BMW, officials with the Florida Highway Patrol told reporters. Officials said they did not know why the truck turned into the northbound lane.

Published on: March 6, 2025

Boater accused in 2022 Crash that Killed High Schooler Ordered Not to Contact Victim’s Family

By Leesfield & Partners

A circuit court judge ordered George Pino, the 54-year-old Doral real estate broker facing vessel homicide charges related to the 2022 boat crash that killed an Our Lady of Lourdes Academy student, to no longer contact the teen’s parents during trial.

Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez granted the order Wednesday, barring Pino from contacting the family of 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez via a third-party, social media, electronically or in person for the remainder of the trial. The text message was reportedly sent last week from Pino to the girl’s parents that “appealed to both families’ Catholic faith,” according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

While Tinkler Mendez said in court she did not believe the message was sent with “intentional malfeasance,” prosecutors said it could be interpreted as intimidation or witness tampering.

Published on: February 26, 2025

Couple, Pet, Rescued from Choppy Florida Waters. Here’s What You Should Know to Stay Safe.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two boaters and their dog were left clinging to the hull of their sinking boat in the St. Augustine Inlet after rough waters caused the vessel to flip, according to authorities.

“They had life jackets onboard, but the boat flipped so fast they couldn’t get to them in time,” officials from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office told reporter with the Miami Herald about the daring, Feb. 15 rescue. “The female onboard was able to call 911. It [took] about 10 to 15 minutes for us to locate them.”

The couple was spotted around 3 p.m. and videos of their harrowing ordeal show the boat almost completely submerged at some points.

Published on: February 21, 2025

Parents of Florida Teen Killed in 2022 Boat Crash Urge Lawmakers to Make Changes.

By Leesfield & Partners

More than two years ago, a Miami-Dade County family suffered the unimaginable loss of their daughter in a boat crash, now the parents of Luciana Fernandez are fighting for legislative change.

It was Labor Day 2022 when then 17-year-old Luciana and over a dozen others were on a boat that crashed into a channel marker and were ejected from the vessel into Biscayne Bay. The crash killed Luciana, daughter to Melissa and Andy Fernandez, and severely disabled one other girl, Katerina Puig.

This week, Luciana’s parents published an OP-ED announcing their “mission to prevent others from suffering such a tragic loss.” Their solution? New legislation filed by State Reps. Vicki Lopes (R-Miami) and Vanessa Oliver (R-Punta Gorda) that will increase penalties for reckless boating, boating under the influence and accidents that result in death on the water. In addition to stricter penalties for violators of boating laws, House Bill 289, also known as “Lucy’s Law,” will also expand on boating safety and education requirements.