Boating Accident

Published on: July 10, 2025

Father, Former Army Captain Transported to Miami Hospital After Hit-And-Run Boating Incident in the Bahamas. What to Know.

The wife of a former Army captain at the center of a hit-and-run boating incident spoke out to media this week saying her husband is “lucky that he’s alive” after he was hit while snorkeling in the Bahamas.

The incident happened on June 30 while the family vacationed in Exuma. Brent Slough, 42, of Prosper, Texas, was in the water snorkeling when he was sliced by the propellers of a boat that “never stopped,” his wife, Whitney Slough told reporters. Her husband, she said, was hit underneath the buttocks and the legs.

The boat that hit him never stopped.

Published on: July 7, 2025

Two Injured in Fourth of July Boat Crash in Flagler County. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two people were injured after a pontoon boat crashed into a wooden dock on the Intracoastal Waterway near Beverly Beach in Flagler County on the Fourth of July.

Emergency responders were called around 5:18 p.m. and rescued both people from the water, according to reporting from local media. At least one person had life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital in Daytona Beach. The second person was in “stable condition” and was taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast.

The boat was severely damaged in the crash as were parts of the wooden dock.

Published on: July 7, 2025

Five People Aboard Boat Need Rescue off Key Biscayne. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least five people were rescued from a boat that caught fire Sunday morning off Key Biscayne, U.S. Coast Guard Officials said via social media.

The incident happened at 10 a.m. about eight miles off Key Biscayne. A passing Good Samaritan rescued the five people who were on board after the boat’s operator used a radio to report the fire. All five people involved were brought to shore.

No injuries were reported in this incident.

Published on: June 17, 2025

Second Boat Fire in as Many Weeks at South Florida Marina. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least four boats at the Grove Isle marina in Coconut Grove were damaged after a fire broke out Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called out to the area around 7:30 a.m. after two boats docked at the marina burst into flames, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. The fire was contained within 10 minutes and no injuries were reported.

Two other boats had exterior heat damage, but their interior were not damaged, according to reporting.

Published on: June 12, 2025

Sunny Isles Dock Fire Damages Several Boats. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A boat fire that broke out at the Sunny Isles Beach boat dock resulted in a blaze that damaged several vessels and caused an emergency dock evacuation as well as an evacuation at nearby high-rise condos, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

Firefighters were called out to the area around 5:15 a.m. as the fire spread from the first vessel to those nearby, causing a precautionary evacuation. No injuries were reported, however, photos show blackened vessels in complete ruin in the aftermath of the fire.

A cause of the fire was not immediately available Friday.

Published on: June 6, 2025

What Caused Fort Lauderdale Boat Explosion on Memorial Day? Investigators Reveal Possible Cause.

By Leesfield & Partners

Investigators have revealed the possible cause for a Memorial Day boat explosion on the Intracoastal waters near the Lauderdale Yacht Club that killed one person — the igniting of fuel vapors.

The possible cause was revealed to reporters with WSVN by investigators in an article relaying the recorded 911 calls from panicked witnesses on the day of the explosion.

“A boat just, like, exploded, I don’t know, people just flew off the boat,” one caller told emergency responders. “Everyone’s jumping in the water. I’m watching a boat that I think just exploded, or, I think just caught on fire. I’m not sure what’s going on, there was a loud explosion, now a couple people are back on the boat.”

Published on: May 29, 2025

A Boat Carrying 15 People over Memorial Day Weekend Exploded in Fort Lauderdale. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least 11 people were injured when a boat exploded on Memorial Day with 15 people on board, according to reporting from local media.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told reporters Tuesday that the vessel was a 39-foot Sea Ray. The incident happened in the Intracoastal Waterway around 5:45p.m. near the New River Triangle sandbar. Among the injured were two children, including a 5-year-old.

Many of the injured had burns and were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn unit in Miami.

Published on: December 27, 2024

One dead, five others injured in Broward boat explosion, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

Footage of a boat explosion that killed one man and injured five others has gone viral online, with witnesses telling reporters the vessel exploded while it was refueled.

The incident happened Monday, just days before the holidays, around 6 p.m. at the Lauderdale marina, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. At least one other boat caught fire in the incident. The explosion took place near the 15^th Street Fisheries, a nearby restaurant that frequently attracts tourists and boaters alike.

At least three of the five people who were hurt had traumatic injuries. The body of Sebastien Gauthier, 41, of Quebec, Canada, was found in the water by officials with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Monday night.

Published on: November 20, 2024

Judge Orders Miami Developer to Surrender to Authorities in Vessel Homicide Case Resulting From 2022 Boca Chita Crash. A Look at Previous Leesfield & Partners Boating Cases

By Leesfield & Partners

The operator of a boat involved in a 2022 boat crash in Boca Chita Key that killed one teen and permanently injured another has been ordered to surrender to police after news broke last month he would be facing vessel homicide charges, according to local news outlets.

The order was signed by a judge Wednesday and calls for 54-year-old George Pino, a Miami real estate developer, to surrender to authorities. In addition to the vessel homicide charge, Pino will allegedly face one count of driving a vessel in a reckless manner.

What Happened?

Published on: October 17, 2024

‘Committed to Seeking Justice:’ Leesfield & Partners files suit in case of tragic boat crash

By Leesfield & Partners

About a year after a young man was killed in a horrific boat crash, his family retained Leesfield & Partners to represent them in a case against the negligent boater responsible for his death.

Our clients are seeking justice for the irreparable damage done to their family with the loss of their son due to the negligence of Eric Rodriguez, 25, the captain of the boat on the night of the crash.

Rodriguez was intoxicated, according to law enforcement, and fully aware that the plan for that day involved binge drinking. He failed to secure a safe and sober boater to ensure the group could return to shore safely and drove the boat recklessly, speeding far beyond the area’s posted limit.