A man died in a parasailing crash. The boat captain and his bosses are to blame, suit says
The family of a man killed in a July 17 parasailing crash in Key West has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the boat captain who drove that day and his employer, saying the trip should never have happened due to bad weather.
Nicholas Hayward, 37, of Costa Rica, died when the parasail he was in with his girlfriend fell from the sky and struck the water below.
The captain, Andrew Santeiro, 32, went out that day on a Sunset Watersports trip despite dangerously high winds and rough seas, according to the family’s attorney, Thomas Scolaro, of Miami.
Sunset Watersports management did not immediately return a message for comment. Santeiro couldn’t be reached.
Around the time of the midday crash, 12:43 p.m., the National Weather Service reported a “thundery squall” had just moved across Key West between 12:14 and 12:37 p.m., according to a marine weather summary.
Peak wind gusts were near 30 knots, or about 34 mph, according to the weather service.
“Severe weather is a contributing factor with this boating accident,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s boating accident report.
FWC is still investigating the incident, spokesman Officer Bobby Dube said Wednesday. It could take months to wrap up, he said.
Florida law prohibits parasailing if wind conditions are over 20 mph or wind gusts are more than 25 mph.
“A young boy will grow up without a father because a boat operator wanted to play chicken with mother nature,” Scolaro said.
Hayward, who was pronounced dead at the Lower Keys Medical Center, left a 10-year-old son, Oliver.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy and his mother, Mariel Lozano.
The case has been assigned to Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Koenig.
Azalea Silva, 28, of San Antonio, Texas, survived the crash after being airlifted to a Miami hospital.
It didn’t have to happen, Scolaro said.
“This incident would not have occurred but for Sunset Watersports’ utter disregard for the safety of its passengers and violations of Florida law,” Scolaro said in a news release Wednesday, a day after the suit was filed in Monroe County Circuit Court.
“Witnesses have already confirmed that the boat operator was displaying a ‘cowboy attitude,’ ignoring passengers’ screams to slow down,” Scolaro said. “Passengers report the operator never should have put them out there because they could not even stand on the deck without tipping over.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 2:52 PM.
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