Articles Tagged with florida

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Just like motorcycles on land, jet skis are the coolest ride on the water; however, with that level of thrill comes serious responsibility.

From improper training from rental companies to inexperienced riders, jet skis and other watercrafts are responsible for over 1,000 deaths in the United States from 2020 to 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Report, which was released on May 16, 2024. A little over 17% of these deaths occurred in July.

A couple in Arizona made national headlines this week after a wife tragically discovered her husband floating in a lake after he fell from a rented jet ski on Sunday at Lake Pleasant. The couple had rented the jet ski at Scorpion Bay, according to reporting from The Miami Herald, and experienced a “mechanical issue.” When they attempted to make a U-turn, they fell into the water.

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Firefighters with the Key West Fire Department took part in recent training to learn how to dismantle cars in an emergency.

The week-long training was a part of a larger Urban Search and Rescue operation, and all the cars used in the exercise were already marked for destruction, according to reporting from the Key West Citizen.

This specialized training is essential in a state that sees approximately 400,000 annual car accidents on average. Monroe County had nearly 2,000 crashes in 2024, according to data collected by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard. Of these crashes, six people were killed and 1,252 others were injured. In 2023, there were 1,401 crashes with 18 fatalities and 925 injuries.

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Leesfield & Partners has filed a case on behalf of a woman who attempted to lie down on an improperly installed and inadequately maintained hammock at a Key West resort. The hammock flipped her and sent her head-first to the ground, resulting in a severe spinal cord injury.

Not only was the hammock improperly installed and negligently maintained—a defect that has left the resort’s guests vulnerable to injuries of this sort—but the resort failed to remedy the defect or warn people about the risks associated with the use of the hammock.

As a result of this horrific and preventable incident, our client was severely injured and required invasive surgery. A year later she continues to suffer daily pain due to this incident.

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A 73-year-old snorkeler has died after he was found passed out off Key Largo this week, according to local media.

The man, Dwaine David Anderson, of Crystal Falls, Michigan, was swimming on the Grecian Rocks reef off Key Largo Monday. Anderson was out with a commercial dive operation when he was found passed out, officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office told the Miami Herald.

The dive boat crew performed CPR as they raced back to shore. Anderson was transported to the Mariners Hospital in Tavernier where he was pronounced dead.

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A transportation device that Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has been warning communities about may have been responsible for a Key West fire, according to the city’s Fire Marshal.

Key West Fire Marshal Jason Barroso reminded the community in the Keys Weekly, a weekly newspaper, to be wary of lithium-ion batteries. His reminder comes after an initial assessment showed a local fire may have been caused by an e-bike battery.

The fire happened on Patricia Street on Feb. 25 and had fully engulfed a garage, causing significant damage. Thankfully, no injuries were reported but Barroso wanted to remind the community to follow manufacturer’s safety instructions for charging and storing of e-bikes.

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Three people were airlifted to the hospital following a head-on crash on the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys Monday afternoon, according to reporting from local media.

The crash happened around 2 p.m. between a GMC Denali pickup truck and a BMW SUV. Photos from the Miami Herald show the mangled aftermath of the collision and first responders scrambling around the BMW, the front of both vehicles appeared to be crushed in photos.

The pickup was heading south and turned into the northbound lane and struck the BMW, officials with the Florida Highway Patrol told reporters. Officials said they did not know why the truck turned into the northbound lane.

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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 Wednesday, barring Pino from contacting the family of 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez via a third-party, social media, electronically or in person for the remainder of the trial. The text message was reportedly sent last week from Pino to the girl’s parents that “appealed to both families’ Catholic faith,” according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

While Tinkler Mendez said in court she did not believe the message was sent with “intentional malfeasance,” prosecutors said it could be interpreted as intimidation or witness tampering.

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More than two years ago, a Miami-Dade County family suffered the unimaginable loss of their daughter in a boat crash, now the parents of Luciana Fernandez are fighting for legislative change.

It was Labor Day 2022 when then 17-year-old Luciana and over a dozen others were on a boat that crashed into a channel marker and were ejected from the vessel into Biscayne Bay. The crash killed Luciana, daughter to Melissa and Andy Fernandez, and severely disabled one other girl, Katerina Puig.

This week, Luciana’s parents published an OP-ED announcing their “mission to prevent others from suffering such a tragic loss.” Their solution? New legislation filed by State Reps. Vicki Lopes (R-Miami) and Vanessa Oliver (R-Punta Gorda) that will increase penalties for reckless boating, boating under the influence and accidents that result in death on the water. In addition to stricter penalties for violators of boating laws, House Bill 289, also known as “Lucy’s Law,” will also expand on boating safety and education requirements.

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American Cruise Lines, the largest river and small cruise ship line in the U.S., announced its newest ship was christened in Key West.

The ceremony, which was held last week in Key West, was held to honor the company’s newest ship, the American Legend. This ship is part of the cruise line’s Project Blue series, a new fleet of 12 identical sister ships that the company claims will more than double the nation’s current capacity for domestic coastal cruises.

Following its christening, the ship will continue sailing the Florida Gulf Coast and Keys cruises before heading to Chesapeake Bay in March. By the summer, the American Legend will operate coastal New England voyages stretching along the east coast including locations like New York and Boston.

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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 to help boat owners dispose of unwanted or at-risk vessels before they become derelict, preventing possible future legal issues for the derelict boat owner in possible boat crashes and protecting Florida’s marine life. Vessels being considered must be free of all liens or other claims of ownership ad the applicant must be the titled owner of the vessel. The vessels will be removed from state waters and destroyed at no cost to the owner.

The program removes vessels on a first come, first served basis and applicants are accepted until funding runs out, or the program ends

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