A woman died Tuesday morning while scuba diving with a commercial scuba vessel in the Florida Keys, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.
The 56-year-old woman, identified at Andreas Shultz of Tallahassee, was diving at Molasses Reef off Key Lago. Just before 10 a.m., she was found unconscious in the water and was rushed to shore.
Shultz died enroute to shore while others on the boat performed CPR, according to local reporting.
A tractor-trailer driver who faces felony charges in the August 2023 crash in Nebraska that killed a woman and her young son, 8, is now being accused of using Snapchat as he crashed, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.
Justin Zoerb, 22, was charged with two counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of reckless driving following the Clay County, Nebraska, crash on Aug. 9, 2023.
The crash happened around 4 p.m., killing 8-year-old Ryker Schlichtman and Nicole Pavelka, 30. Three other children in the family were hospitalized for their injuries but lived.
At least 16 people were taken to the hospital after two airboats in the Everglades carrying more than 30 people crashed Friday afternoon.
The crash happened around 3:15 p.m. near Ochopee in Collier County, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. One airboat had 20 people on board while the other carried 13 people.
Additional information, including what caused the boats to crash, was not readily available on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration Recently announced updated arrival and departure procedures at Florida airports named after Jimmy Buffet, a famed singer-songwriter and previous Leesfield & Partners client who passed away in 2023 at 76.
Pilots arriving at Palm beach International Airport will perform JESTR ONE, the arrival procedure named for Buffet who often compared his work to that of a court jester.
In Key West, where Leesfield & Partners has an office on historic Whitehead Street, pilots leaving from Key West International Airport will go through BUFIT ONE.
Authorities confirmed over the weekend that the human head that washed ashore on Key Biscayne belonged to a teen who went missing off Miami Beach a week before after being caught in a rip current.
Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, was swimming with his sister off South Pointe Beach on Nov. 9 around 6 p.m. when the two were caught up in a rip current. They yelled for help and passersby were able to rescue Castaneda’s sister, but he seemed to vanish in the water, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. His older sister, Jessica Castaneda, told reporters that her brother pushed their younger sister toward shore in an effort to save her as the pair struggled against the currents.
On Nov. 12, a human head washed up on the beach in front of Oceansound Key Colony II condominium at 251 Crandon Blvd on Key Biscayne. The remains were found by a beach maintenance worker before 8:40 a.m.
Spotting flames or smoke in your home—a space that should be a sanctuary—can trigger panic and immobilize even the calmest individuals but smoke alarms can alert you to a problem at the first hint of danger.
During this nightmarish situation, it can be hard to think clearly. Thousands of people die each year in the United States due to trying to save their possessions or put out the fire themselves to save their homes instead of evacuating.
For that very reason, it is crucial to know how to improve your reaction times and have the proper safety equipment installed in your home to alert you of any dangers. In honor of Fire Safety Awareness Month, the Key West Fire Department accepted recent donations of smoke alarms from the Opal Key Resort, which will later be distributed for free to community members, according to local media. These detectors will be available at the Central Fire Station No. 1 at 1600 North Roosevelt Blvd.
The nephew of famed surfer, Bethany Hamilton, was injured over the weekend in a Hawaii drowning incident. Now, the family is taking to social media to ask for help.
The incident took place on Oct. 11. The child was medevacked to a different hospital and “has fight in him,” his aunt wrote on social media.
“We are wrecked,” Hamilton said in the post shared to her Instagram account with over 2.4 million followers. “But I know how proper medical support can make or break someone’s chance of survival and in this case we’re asking for help from anyone who has information [on] what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.”
As Floridians pick up the pieces left behind by the devastation of Hurricane Milton, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission experts warn about the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure.
On average, there are approximately 200 Americans who die each year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, and 400 die in total from exposure in the United States, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. At least 92 of these deaths were linked back to portable generators.
With about 2.4 million Floridians still without power as of Friday morning, it is likely many will turn to generators to charge electronic devices to be able to contact family and friends, cook, and, in some cases, keep the electricity running for medical equipment. Knowing this, experts have sent out advisories reminding Floridians how to best and safely use their generators as they take stock of the damage from the storm.
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 trips throughout the state to retrieve the animals that are dangerous to native fish and coral reefs.
One lionfish can reduce a native reef fish population by over 70%. They also present a risk to humans with their venomous spines which can cause painful stings. In 2022, over 25,000 lionfish were removed from Florida waters in FWC’s annual, summer-long challenge, which began in 2016.
A woman pregnant with her second child and her husband have died following a snorkeling incident while on vacation in Maui.
The tragedy took place on Saturday, Sept. 14 just after noon on the north side of Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, according to reporting from national news outlets.
The couple was out snorkeling while their oldest son, an 18-month-old, stayed with his aunt and uncle. The woman, 26-year-old Sophia Tsaruk, was allegedly found by a rescue team member on a jet ski who brought her to shore to begin CPR. Her husband, Ilya Tsaruk, 25, was found by firefighters with the Maui County Fire Department approximately 100-150 yards away from the shore.
Key West Injury Lawyer Blog