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…
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…
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…
The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners recently released an advisory to remind Florida Keys boat owners that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is once again accepting applications for its Vessel Turn-In Program (VTIP) to prevent possible. The VTIP is entirely voluntary and was established in late 2022…
The charter captain of a boat that crashed into a bridge over the summer, injuring several people including an 11-year-old boy, has been accused of being under the influence during the crash. Laurence Lewis, 42, was charged this week with three counts of felony boating under the influence, causing serious…
A woman killed as the result of a tragic Nov. 7 boat crash in Key West has been identified by authorities as a 28-year-old Hialeah woman. Stephanie Rodriguez, the woman killed in the incident, was among several people who were ejected into the water after the driver of a 39-foot…
A person has died and two others remain hospitalized after a boat overturned in Key Largo Saturday, marking at least the second boat crash in the Florida Keys in just over a week, officials say. Saturday’s crash happened before 10:30 a.m. when a 34-foot Nor-Tech carrying three people turned sharply,…
Nearly three months have passed since a spearfisherman was killed by a passing boater over the July Fourth Weekend. Recently, authorities have charged that boater in the man’s death. Palmer Reid Long Jr., 72, of Placida, Florida, was charged on Sept. 23, with vessel homicide after police say he didn’t…
Divers broke records this year in an annual competition to remove invasive lionfish from Florida waters, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release. The 2024 Lionfish Season concluded with a record-breaking 31,773 species being pulled from the water. Just under 300 divers went on over 700…
A speeding boat gunning for hundreds of swimmers and kayakers participating in a local event in Islamorada Saturday was stopped by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helicopter. “From our angle, he was the only thing stopping that boat from going across all of those people,” Capt. Matt Bellinger,…