Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
A minor league shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles has died after a jet ski crash in Sarasota, Florida.
Luis Alexander Guevara, 19, of Venezuela was identified as one of four people who were involved in a crash near Lido Key, an island west of Sarasota. All four people were thrown into the water following the head-on collision between two jet skis around 8 p.m. Sunday.
Witnesses told reporters with The Baltimore Sun that the jet skis were driving “recklessly” around the beach area and that multiple watercrafts were “extremely close to boats and the children that were in the water.”
At least one other person was hospitalized with severe injuries, according to reporting from The Baltimore Sun.
Guevara was signed by the Orioles in January 2023 and appeared for the next two years with the DSL Orioles in the Dominican Republic. In his first U.S. baseball season in 2025, he appeared in 30 games.
Mike Elias, Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager, honored Guevara in an online statement.
“Luis was a beloved member of our organization, and we are devastated following his tragic passing,” he said via Twitter. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and teammates and we ask for their continued privacy during this difficult time.”
The crash remains under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, Key West and Orlando. Operating out of the Sunshine State, this law firm has seen countless devastating and preventable jet ski crashes that cause life-altering injuries and the deaths of our clients’ loved ones. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to our white-sanded shores to rent jet skis or participate in guided tours and, every year, injuries are reported.
Data from the FWC’s annual boating accident report shows that there was a total of 685 reportable boating incidents in the state in 2024 with 81 fatalities and nearly 400 injuries. Of these incidents, at least 149 involved personal watercraft such as jet skis. Over half of these PWC accidents were caused by a collision with another vessel. At least 12 people were killed and 113 others were injured in these crashes, the data showed.
With decades of personal injury experience throughout Florida, Leesfield & Partners knows just how common and catastrophic jet ski crashes can be.
In an article discussing such crashes, Partner Justin B. Shapiro explained that no other water-related activity produces more injuries than jet ski crashes. The reason is twofold — not enough people are prepared for the sheer strength needed to maneuver these watercrafts through the waves and, though they are marketed as “beginner friendly,” the reality is starkly different.
“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,” he said.
Previous Cases
Leesfield & partners’ six skilled trial attorneys have secured numerous multi-million dollar settlements for clients and their grieving families at the hands in nearly five decades.
In the last several years alone, the firm has secured more than $10 million in verdicts and settlements for clients injured as the result of jet ski crashes in the state.
One avoidable death that altered the life of a couple forever resulted from a Key West rental company flouting necessary safety training requirements, as mandated by law. The company failed to ensure that every one of their renters understood the safety tutorial and knew how to operate the personal watercraft that day. A French-speaking renter, who they did not adequately prep, fatally collided with the wife of a Leesfield & Partners client. The company failed to provide their customer with the translation he needed to understand how to use the jet ski.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys were able to secure a multi-million-dollar settlement for the family in that case.
In another jet ski crash, a man visiting from California with his family was seriously injured when he violently crashed into a concrete bridge piling. The man was on a guided jet ski tour with his family at the time. The guides, who are required to prep their customers for the strong currents they would face, led them through a narrow bridge opening and sped far away from them throughout the tour the day the man crashed.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented a jet ski crash victim who suffered serious injuries and obtained a $1 million recovery for that client.
The firm secured a $935,000 recovery for a client involved in a jet ski collision with a boat.
A $900,000 recovery was obtained for a client injured in an accident involving a jet ski company.
A jet ski crash case involving a rental company resulted in a six-figure settlement amount obtained for an injured Leesfield & Partners client.
