Articles Tagged with “Florida Keys”

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Community members and their local fire department gathered over the weekend to honor a Plantation after his diving death in the Florida Keys.

Community members and their local fire department gathered over the weekend to honor a Plantation 17-year-old, who had dreamed of becoming a firefighter, after his diving death in the Florida Keys.

Cameron Ruwe died while on a family trip off Grassy Key on Saturday, Sept. 13, just a week shy of his birthday, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida. He had been using a hookah rig, a surface-supplied air system, while he went underwater. He was given CPR before emergency responders took him to Fishermen’s Hospital in Marathon, Florida, where he was pronounced dead.

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A 17-year-old teenager died over the weekend while diving using a hookah rig in the Florida Keys, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The boy, later identified as Cameron Isaiah Ruwe, was diving with several others on Saturday using a hookah rig — a type of diving that uses a surface-based compressor to deliver air through a hose. The group and their vessel were near Grassy Key around 1:30 p.m. when Cameron attempted to swim back to his boat and “went underwater,” according to local media.

The people who were with him attempted to perform CPR before emergency responders arrived. He was taken to Fisherman’s Community Hospital in Marathon where he was pronounced dead.

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World Atlas has released the Sunshine State’s 11 most scenic drives and the Florida Keys’ iconic Overseas Highway was first on the list.

The road, which stretches 113 miles from Key Largo to Key West, boasts breathtaking, panoramic views of the water around it. The bridge spans 43 islands and serves as the only road connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland.

Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, Orlando and Key West. The firm’s nearly five decades of experience across the state has resulted in numerous record verdicts and settlements obtained on behalf of individuals or grieving families. In that time, the firm has handled numerous motor vehicle accident cases, including several on the Overseas Highway.

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Firefighters in the City of Marathon raced against the clock Wednesday morning to extinguish a boat fire in a residential driveway before the flames could spread to the home, according to local reports.

Emergency responders were called out to the 200 block of Camino Road in the Middle Keys just before 2 a.m. for reports of a fire. When they arrived, they found a 20-foot Sea Pro vessel that was engulfed in flames in the driveway of the home. Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office had allegedly attempted to put the fire out using fire extinguishers because it had “begun to char the front of the house,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Thankfully, the home was not occupied, and firefighters were able to out the flames. While shutting off power to the home, firefighters discovered damaged wires. It remains unclear whether the damage sparked the fire or was caused by it.

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A Fort Lauderdale woman faces multiple charges after police say she led them on a high-speed chase Saturday in the Florida Keys.

Lianet Rodriguez, 35, was charged with felony fleeing and eluding police, a misdemeanor moving traffic violation, driving under the influence and resisting an officer.

The chase was sparked by multiple 911 calls that reported a car was driving into oncoming traffic and passing on the shoulder near mile marker 21, according to reporting from local news outlets. Mile Marker 21 is on Cudjoe Key.

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In Key West, the land where Jimmy Buffet songs and margaritas reign supreme, it is important for victims of a slip and fall or other accident to know what recourse they have for recovery.

At Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience throughout Florida, our attorneys know that accidents can occur at any time — no matter the venue.

Whether a tourist or a local, hitting the iconic stops along Duval Street or events at Mallory Square, a night of fun-filled live music can quickly turn sour through no fault of your own. While no one expects such a thing to occur, the countless recoveries obtained on behalf of injured clients throughout the firm’s history are enough to prove that they do. It can be something as simple as slipping in the unmopped remnants of a spilled drink, being trampled by a throng of cruise ship passengers in an overcrowded bar or being injured due to building code violations.

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A federal grand jury charged a Florida Keys boat captain in relation to a parasailing accident that resulted in the death of a woman and the injury of two children in 2022.

Daniel Couch, 52, was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with one count of seaman’s manslaughter. The charge stems from Memorial Day 2022 when Couch took out 33-year-old Supraja Alaparthi, her son, 10, and her 9-year-old nephew on a parasailing excursion in a 31-foot boat. Alaparthi died from her injuries and her nephew was severely injured. Her son suffered minor injuries, according to local media.

The family was already in the air around 5 p.m. on May 30, 2022, when a strong storm gust caused an issue, causing Couch and at least one other employee on the boat to lower the group back to the water. The National Weather Service had predicted high winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms before the group set out on the water. The gust was so strong that the “parasail also risked dragging the boat,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Couch did not steer the boat side-to-side or attempt another technique to lessen the wind underneath the parasail. Instead, he cut the cable tethering the parasail harness to the boat with a knife.

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Key West, where Leesfield & Partners has one of three Florida offices, was named as one of the top seven charming U.S. Coastal towns this week by USA Today.

It’s no wonder why the quaint area, known for its combination of Floridian and Caribbean cuisine, history and scenic beaches, was named alongside iconic locations such as Cape Cod and Shelter Island. For years, Key West has been a hub, attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, Leesfield & Partners has become a figure in the area, known not just for record results for injured clients and grieving families, but also for philanthropic endeavors. Most recently, the firm launched its first-ever Dexter Butler Scholarship at Key West High School to honor the life and legacy of the beloved teacher and coach, Dexter Butler. That scholarship was given to senior Dylan Martinez in May at the school’s Class Night and was presented by Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, and Partner Justin B. Shapiro.

“I have known the Butler family for my entire 45 years working in Key West,” Mr. Leesfield said of the award. “There is no finer family in the community who has done more for high school athletic programs. Dexter Butler was a true role model.”

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Investigators in North Carolina allege they found 39 empty beer cans aboard the boat of a man they say was under the influence the day he hit and killed a little girl.

Quinten Knight, 40, faces charges of serious injury by impaired boating, operating a boat in a reckless manner, felony boating while impaired and misdemeanor boating while impaired, according to reporting from the News and Observer.

Knight is accused of boating under the influence while operating his girlfriend’s vessel on Harris Lake, approximately 25 miles outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, Aug. 2.

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After a three-week-long trial, a Miami jury awarded $242.6 million to the families affected by a deadly 2019 crash in the Florida Keys.

The jury deliberated for about seven hours, according to reporting from The Miami Herald, and decided Tesla’s Autopilot system was partially responsible. As a result, the world-renowned company will be forced to pay $200 million in punitive damages and $42.6 million in compensatory damages to the surviving family members of Naibel Benavides Leon, 22, and her boyfriend, 33-year-old Dillon Angulo.

In the years since the technology was first launched, statements have been made about Tesla S’s ability to stop itself or avoid road obstacles in its path with little to no driver assistance. Angulo and the Benavides Leon family’s attorneys argued that the company was making false claims about its Autopilot system.

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