A woman died after she was ejected from a boat in the Florida Keys over the weekend, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida.
The woman, 52, of Hialeah, Florida, was on a 35-foot SeaVee Sunday, Aug. 16 with at least three others, police told reporters. The vessel was traveling north on the Intracoastal Waterway near Tavernier and, as it made a turn, all passengers were ejected into the water.
At least two other people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the station reported.
A scuba diver who died at a Florida Keys hospital after needing rescue this week has been identified as a Michigan man, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Stephen Matheny, 64, of West Bloomfield Township died at Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon on Monday Aug. 10. Matheny was diving in the area around 11:20 a.m. Monday when he “became unresponsive,” authorities said. He was pulled from the water and those with him immediately began CPR.
The U.S. Coast Guard took him to the hospital where he later died. It was not immediately clear whether Matheny was with a commercial dive boat or not.
A Federal Judge declared a mistrial on Monday, Aug. 3, in the case of a Florida Keys boat captain who was charged in a fatal 2022 parasailing accident.
The trial began on Monday, July 27, and involved jurors listening to testimony of what occurred on May 30, 2022, when 33-year-old Supraja Alaparthi, of Schaumburg Illinois, went parasailing with her son, 10, and 7-year-old nephew. After six days of deliberations, a federal jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, Local 10 News reported. The case will be scheduled for a new trial.
The 53-year-old boat captain was charged with voluntary manslaughter and seaman’s manslaughter. If convicted of voluntary manslaughter, a person would be guilty of a second-degree felony and could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. A person who is found guilty of seaman’s manslaughter may face up to 10 years in prison.
At least three people were in need of rescue during the spiny lobster mini season, an annual two-day window of fishing before commercial traps are set, in Monroe County, according to local media.
On Wednesday, July 29, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were on the water after receiving reports about three missing divers in Monroe County. The group was separated from their vessel while diving off of Duck Key in the Middle Keys.
Bodycam footage from the officers posted by The Miami Herald shows authorities as they approached the divers who were bobbing in the water. Some of the divers had tanks strapped to their backs and thanked officers as they were pulled onboard the vessel.
Every year, thousands of tourists and locals alike wait to dive beneath the surface of the Florida Keys’ sparkling waters during lobster season.
Invariably, however, this highly anticipated, annual event does not come without incident. From arrests for overfishing to more devastating boating accidents, authorities are cautioning divers and boaters to be safe out on the water.
In its latest, publicly available report, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noted that there were 694 reportable boating accidents in 2025. These incidents resulted in 51 deaths and injuries to 437 people. The agency reported that 67% of fatal incidents in 2025 involved vessel operators without formal boater education.
One moment, a toddler chases a wayward ball on the patio.
The next, they are teetering over the pool’s edge.
It can happen in a matter of seconds and go unnoticed until it is too late.
A 44-foot yacht was destroyed in a blaze that broke out at a Key Largo marina ahead of the July Fourth weekend, according to officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire broke out Thursday at the Anchorage Resort & Yacht Club in Key Largo. Thankfully, MCSO officials reported, no one was on board the boat at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The blaze appeared to have been contained to the singular vessel and no further damage was reported.
No cause of the fire has been publicly released. Photos posted online by the MCSO show firefighters battling the blaze and the singed vessel immediately following the fire.
At least one woman was taken to the hospital, and another person was injured after a boat crashed into a Florida Keys channel over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to local media.
The crash happened Sunday, July 5, around 3:20 p.m., reporters with The Miami Herald said. The vessel that the two were on crashed into the Harris Gap Channel Bridge on Sugarloaf Key. At least one other person was aboard the vessel at the time of the crash and was injured, according to Local 10 News.
The woman, whose name has not been released as of Monday, July 6, was taken to a hospital on the mainland for treatment. A spokesperson for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) told reporters that she had non-life-threatening injuries. It is unclear whether the second person required transport to a local hospital.
Police in Sarasota flagged down a young boy who was operating a jet ski by himself in June, resulting in legal trouble for his parents and a hot debate online.
“That’s right, you have to be 14 in the state of Florida,” Ron Dixon, the officer with the Sarasota Police Marine Patrol Unit who was involved, later told a reporter with Fox 13 Tampa Bay News.
The incident occurred on Sunday, June 14, in the waters of Big Pass when the officer, who was out on the water on his own vessel, flagged down the 8-year-old operator. In bodycam footage of the event, the minor can be seen approaching the officer’s boat wearing a life jacket.
“Florida is the boating capital of the world, but sadly, it is also the boating fatality capital of the world.”
These are the words of Partner Justin B. Shapiro of Leesfield & Partners. With decades of practice representing the injured individuals and grieving families of those involved in some of Florida’s most horrific boating and water-related incidents, our attorneys understand the magnitude of this pressing safety issue. From a young diver and father-to-be whose life was prematurely snuffed out by a negligent boater to the loss of a child’s leg while aboard a vessel, our skilled trial attorneys have seen just about every injury that can occur on the water. With this experience comes an increased vigilance toward the dangers, and the urgency to create positive change.
Last July, when Lucy’s Law—legislation named in honor of 17-year-old Luciana ‘Lucy’ Fernandez, who died in the 2022 Boca Chita boat crash—went into effect, our attorneys applauded the move and saw it as a sign for increased vigilance and safety on the water.
