Articles Tagged with “key west”

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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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At least two men have died and a child was injured in three separate incidents in the Florida Keys during the area’s lobster mini-season.

On Wednesday, July 30, Clarence Shawyer, 82, of Palm City, was found unresponsive in Gulf waters, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in an online statement. He was taken to Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon and later died.

In Islamorada at around 8:30 a.m. the next day, 61-year-old Raymond Bruce Sasser, of Loxahatchee, lost consciousness while snorkeling. Emergency responders took him to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he later died.

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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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Anyone looking to avoid long, traffic-filled drives between Fort Lauderdale and Key West now can thanks to a new direct flight set to take flight starting on Nov. 6.

Spirit Airlines will launch weekly flights on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Key West International Airport. Daily flights will begin on Dec. 18.

Tickets are already available for sale online at the airline’s website.

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Note: The names of the individuals involved in this crime have been excluded from this article to protect the victims.

A Florida Keys woman was sentenced to 13 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to various sex crimes involving children.

The woman, 37, pleaded guilty this week to sexual battery, incest and child neglect. She was arrested in January of 2024. Following her release, she will have to serve eight years of probation and will be subject to court-ordered supervision. She will also be required to register as a sex offender.

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About 5 million aboveground pools have been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission following the deaths of at least nine toddlers since 2002.

The CPSC officially recalled the pools due to a compression strap surrounding the exterior of the pool legs that could create a “foothold, allowing a child access to the pool, posing a drowning risk.”

From 2007 through 2022, the children — aged 22 months to 3 years old — have drowned in states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, California and Florida, where childhood drowning rates have soared in recent years. In data from the Florida Department of Health, it was reported that enough children drown in the state to fill several preschool classrooms.

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An 81-year-old died Monday while with a commercial diving crew in the Florida Keys, according to local media.

Stephen Edward Plopper, of Carmel, Indiana, was swimming with a commercial dive boating around Sand Key Lighthouse off of Key West when members of the crew with the boat noticed him unresponsive in the water.

They immediately began CPR, according to reporting with The Miami Herald. Members of the Coast Guard who responded to the scene also performed life-saving measures and transported Plopper to the Lower Keys Medical Center where he died.

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Katerina “Katy” Puig, who survived the 2022 Boca Chita boat crash that killed her classmate, was honored by the City of Miami, which proclaimed Thursday, July 10, as “Katy Puig Day,” according to The Miami Herald.

Puig was celebrated for her bravery Thursday by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez who presented her with a plaque while she attended the ceremony with her parents, Kathya and Rudy Puig.

Since the September 2022 crash that resulted in the tragic death of Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, 20-year-old Puig remains in physical therapy to regain motor skills. She currently requires the use of a wheelchair after suffering brain injuries from the crash.

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A Martin County family is grieving the loss of their 1-year-old daughter after she died in a tragic pool drowning incident in Jensen Beach.

The infant was under the care of a grandparent who lost track of the her and called 911. While on the phone, dispatchers asked the grandparent — who was going from room-to-room in the home searching — to check the pool, according to reporting from the Treasure Coast News.

Emergency responders were called out to the home around 3:30 p.m. where they found the grandparent administering CPR to the infant. The 1-year-old was taken to Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital in Stuart, Florida, where she later died.

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