Husband of woman who died in parasailing accident where she, their son and nephew were ‘dragged for miles’ as wind gusts reached 30mph describes Captain BEGGING to rescue them – as he was cutting the rope
- Supraja Alaparthi, 33, who was killed in a parasailing accident over the Florida Keys on Memorial Day last year
- Her husband, Srinivasrao Alaparthi, has spoken of the devastating moment his dream family vacation turned into a tragedy
- He also alleges the boat operator told him “don’t worry, the bridge will help” just before the accident killed his wife and injured his child.
The husband of a woman killed in a parasailing accident over the Florida Keys on Memorial Day last year has spoken out for the first time.
Srinivasrao Alaparthi, recounted the terrifying day when his wife Supraja Alaparthi, 33, their ten-year-old son and nine-year-old nephew were cut off from their parasail after being caught in wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour.
The aircraft crashed to earth, hitting the Old Seven Mile Bridge just west of Marathon, killing Supraja Alaparthi and injuring their two children.
Srinivasrao Alaparthi said Good Morning America when things took a turn for the worse: “The captain was worried, his actions were terrifying and I was also scared.
Describing when the captain cut the rope, he said “I didn’t observe exactly what he was doing, when exactly he cut the rope”, he said.
Srinivasrao Alaparthi described the moment when things turned tragic
Daniel Gavin Couch, 49, has been charged with manslaughter and parasailing business law violations
“It all went like fragmented and like that, the situations were crazy, but obviously whatever he was doing was concerning for all of us.”
Srinivasrao Alaparthi’s lawyer, Ricky Patel, said his client pleaded with the driver to help his wife “he was holding the captain’s leg begging him to go over there and save them”.
“And he goes ahead and says ‘don’t worry, the bridge will help you.
In September 2022, the captain of the boat, Daniel Gavin Couch, 49, was charged with manslaughter and violations of parasailing business laws. He pleaded not guilty.
‘Daniel Couch had complete disregard for the care of his passengers, who entrusted their lives to him allowing them to fly [even] after acknowledging the weather was rapidly deteriorating,” the state warrant stated.
“Realizing that the parasail was no longer under his control, Daniel Crouch made a crude and blatant decision to cut the towline, the only means of safely returning passengers to the ship, with no reasonable regard for others. shares available.
The captain made the disastrous decision to cut the rope attaching the parasail to the boat, allowing the device to fall back to earth.
Parasailing hit the old Seven Mile Bridge just west of Marathon, killing Supraja Alaparthi
Happier times: The couple pictured here before tragedy struck on family vacation
Supraja Alaparthi was pronounced dead at the scene, her son and nephew were taken to hospital for their injuries
Alaparthi is now suing the captain of the boat, his colleague, the boat company and the marina for the death of his wife
“This indifference to the consequences of his decisions and actions has resulted in death and serious injury to these parasails.”
The warrant alleges that Couch did not maneuver his ship below deck to offer assistance “even though family members aboard the parasail later reported that they were pleading with him to help.”
Srinivasrao Alaparthi has now filed a lawsuit against Couch, his colleague, the boat company and the marina.
He alleges that they failed to check weather reports which should have prevented them from sailing, failed to provide sufficient safety equipment, including life jackets, and failed to not properly descended the parasail after losing control.
Lawyer Pedro Echarte added: “There were so many opportunities to prevent this from happening, but instead there was failure, after failure after failure.”
He advised families planning their summer vacations this year to take extra care and ask adventure activity retailers questions rather than relying on signage.
