At least four people were injured and one other died after they were ejected from a boat that crashed into a Key West sandbar Thursday afternoon, authorities told reporters with The Miami Herald.
The crash happened around 4 p.m. when a 39-foot Deep Impact vessel carrying at least eight people crashed into a sand bar in North Key West Harbor. Five people were catapulted into the water, officials said, and were taken to the hospital where one person died from their injuries.
Additional details were not immediately available Friday morning.
Boating Crash Stats in Florida
A 2023 report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which provides data on recreational boat crashes in Florida, showed that there were approximately 659 crashes statewide. At least 59 people were killed as a result of these accidents on the water in 2023 and over 400 people were injured. The most-common cause of a fatal crash in Florida was a crash with a fixed object and the second-most-common incident was from passengers falling overboard. The leading cause of death for these tragic incidents was drowning, which accounted for about half of the fatalities in 2023. Over 80% of the boat operators involved in these fatal incidents had no formal boater’s education, according to the FWC.
Of these crashes, towed watersport activities, such as tubing or wakeboarding, were involved in four accidents and five injuries in 2023. Activities such as paddle boarding or kayaking resulted in 15 accidents and killed at least seven people. All seven of those killed were either in canoes or kayaks, according to the data. The bulk of these crashes took place in July while the majority of the fatal incidents happened in June and September.
The places with the most crashes in Florida were Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. In Monroe County, where the incident rate for 2023 was the highest overall, there were 87 accidents that resulted in three deaths and 62 injuries.
Leesfield & Partners in Key West
Key West is known for its sprawling Banyan trees, famous key lime pie, the six-toed cats at Earnest Hemingway’s home and a myriad of historic ghost tales, but it is also known for its sparkling waters. Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world flock to the southernmost point of the contiguous United States, participating in recreational water activities such as boating, snorkeling and jet skiing. While these sports are oftentimes the source of fond vacation memories, inspiring stories of sunburns or comical encounters with Florida’s marine life, Leesfield & Partners knows that, without the proper precautions, they can become memorable for entirely different reasons.
This year, Leesfield & Partners celebrated its 48th anniversary and its 38th annual sponsorship of the Monroe County Bar Association’s CLE Luncheon. In that storied history of representing clients and advocating for justice on their behalf, Leesfield & Partners has built a reputation as a leading law firm in the state when it comes to recreational water activity accident litigation.
One such example of this can be found in the devastating death of a young woman who was on a speed boat that crashed at night into a concrete dock. The woman was flung into the water and killed. Attorneys with the firm discovered that not only was the negligent boat operator speeding at night where visibility is low, but that the driver had also been drinking the night of the crash.
Leesfield & Partners recovered $1,325,000 in that case.
Attorneys with the firm also represented the family of a snorkeling excursion passenger who died after the charter boat collided with a channel marker. The firm obtained $1,850,000 for the family.
In another case involving a diver, attorneys were able to secure $2 million in the wrongful death case of a snorkeler killed after a motorboat failed to see divers-down flags in the area.
In a case settled by Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, the maximum, capped settlement amount was secured for the family of a man killed while lobster diving by a law enforcement officer on duty who did not adhere to divers-down flag regulations.
In a case involving the agonizing death of a minor who was snorkeling when he was killed by a teen recklessly speeding on the water, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.7 million settlement. In that case, the boat that killed the minor was being operated by a teenager who not only did not stop but attempted to cover up evidence once he returned home and lied to police when questioned.
Neighbors who testified in the case said that the teen had previously driven the boat carelessly.
Jet Ski Cases
Partner and Trial Lawyer Justin B. Shapiro, knows just how dangerous jet ski incident can be and estimated in a Daily Business Review article discussing liability with rental companies that these incidents are responsible for producing more water-related injuries and deaths than any other recreational water activity. This is because of the difficulty involved with driving these machines such as navigating volatile weather conditions and ocean currents.
“Unfortunately, little can be done to mitigate the danger of these death machines short of banning them,” Mr. Shapiro said in the article. “As the summer months yield their inevitable slew of injuries, prospective renters should be aware of the life-threatening dangers of jet skis, and their attorneys should be intimately familiar with the many regulations that were enacted to keep them safe.”
A $575,000 settlement was secured in the drowning death of a man against a Florida boat tour company.
Leesfield & Partners previously recovered $935,750 for a woman injured in a jet ski and boating accident.
The firm previously recovered $2,888,000 for the family of a woman killed as the result of an incident involving a Florida jet ski rental company.
A family visiting the state from California were left to fend for themselves in unfamiliar waters as the guides meant to watch over and lead them on a tour continuously sped away from them and failed to coach them through an area that was known for its dangerous currents. The father in that incident crashed with concrete bridge pilings as a result and was significantly injured.