15-Year-Old Dies in Florida Keys After Being Struck by Boat Propeller

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 9, 2018

Tragedy struck for a family whose child was in Key West on the afternoon of Sunday, September 2nd, after the 15-year-old was killed while swimming in the temperate waters of the Florida Keys. While the boating accident is still very much under investigation, at the time of this writing we do know many of the primary facts that exist in relation to the incident.

The time when the accident took place remains unclear, but it is certain that a 15-year-old was swimming in the waters of the Florida Keys, somewhere along a channel that runs between the islands of Summerland Key and Cudjoe Key. We do not yet know if the young person was in the presence of their family or if they were instead swimming in the waters without adult supervision.

As they were playing in the waves, they neared a boat that was being operated nearby. The report did not indicate if the boat was moving at the time or if it was stationary. The report also did not indicate if the boat was in an area reserved for boats or if it had entered an area where swimmers habitually enjoy the water. Generally, we are in the dark as to who was driving the boat, where the child was swimming, and just why the person in charge of the boat failed to notice the swimmer.

When the paths of the two crossed, the boat’s propeller struck the boy’s head. The incident was immediately called in to emergency services, and as the gravely injured swimmer was raced by boat to the Cudjoe Key Resort, paramedics were already waiting at the dock to take them and begin administering emergency medical care.

It was while the child was in the care of the paramedics that he went into cardiac arrest. The emergency medical teams were not able to revive them, and they were pronounced dead sometime after arriving at a hospital located on the island.

At the time of this writing, it is believed that an investigation is underway by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Any updates to the story will emerge from this group.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.