Attorneys last week filed another civil lawsuit against three defendants stemming from a parasailing accident off Marathon that killed one woman and injured two young boys in May of 2022.
Filed on June 6 on behalf of the families of the deceased Supraja Alaparthi, 33, her son Sriakshith Alaparthi, 10, and nephew Vishant Sadda, 9, the new suit levies 24 total counts of negligence, vicarious liability and negligent infliction of emotional distress against parasail captain Daniel Couch, 50, mate Tanner Helmers, 25, and Marathon’s Captain Pip’s Holdings, LLC, where the boat left from on the day of the accident.
A separate wrongful death and personal injury suit against Lighthouse Parasail, the company conducting the flight, was filed on June 28, 2022 and is still pending. Couch was arrested on Sept. 22, 2022, on one charge of manslaughter and five counts of violation of commercial parasailing statutes. That criminal case is also still pending.
On May 30, 2022, the Alaparthis and Sadda were taking a three-seater parasail flight conducted by Lighthouse Parasail when a strong gust of wind “pegged” the parasail, resulting in a loss of control by the towing vessel. With the parasail pegged, Couch intentionally cut the tether.
The three victims dropped to the surface of the water and were dragged by the freed parasail until it collided with the Old Seven Mile Bridge. While the younger Alaparthi and Sadda sustained injuries, Supraja was pronounced dead at the scene after being freed from her harness and brought to land by Marathon’s Capt. John Callion.
“We have talked to five other vessels throughout Marathon that came in early that day because of the horrific winds and weather that was coming in through the Middle Keys,” said attorney Michael Haggard when announcing the suit against Lighthouse. “In fact, the family had several conversations with both the captain and the first mate: ‘We can come back tomorrow.’ … The captain said, ‘No, we will be fine.’
“It was absolute negligence, a violation of statute in the state of Florida to put those three souls multiple hundreds of feet in the air on this day.”
Speaking with Good Morning America in a segment that aired on June 8, Supraja’s husband Srinivasrao Alaparthi said that “having fun is not worth the cost of life. There should be enough safety measures – otherwise you will end up in a miserable situation.”
Among other items, the various lawsuits allege that Couch and Helmers departed from Captain Pip’s Marina aboard the M/V Airborne without checking the weather, failed to provide appropriate safety instructions to their passengers, did not have appropriate weather monitoring equipment aboard the boat, chose to conduct a parasail flight in unsafe weather, and failed to execute alternate emergency procedures rather than cutting the tow line to detach the parasail.
The new suit alleges that Lighthouse Parasail and the other defendants acted in partnership with, or as agents for, Captain Pip’s, as parasailing was advertised on the resort’s website and signage. Speaking with the Weekly on June 9, attorney Pedro Echarte III confirmed that Lighthouse’s affiliation with Captain Pip’s, as researched by the Alaparthis through both companies’ websites, played a role in their decision to book with Lighthouse.
An archived copy from May 11, 2022 of Captain Pip’s website obtained through the nonprofit Internet Archive list parasailing as an activity offered at the resort, describing a “proud partnership” between Captain Pip’s Marina and Lighthouse Parasail and a direct link to book Lighthouse’s expeditions. By the next full archived copy, dated Aug. 14, 2022 – after the accident and announcement of the ensuing lawsuit – the mention of parasailing was removed.
Speaking with the Weekly on June 13, Captain Pip’s owner Ernie Crawford disputed the claims in the new suit, saying his company had “nothing to do with (Lighthouse Parasail).”
“We weren’t even leasing to them at the time; they just showed back up,” said Crawford. He told the Weekly that Lighthouse’s lease with Captain Pip’s had expired “who knows how long” before the day in question, and that he thought it had been around a year before.
“They were gone for two to three months,” he said. “I don’t know the exact time frame, but they hadn’t even paid rent, and they just happened to show back up. Let me make it really clear that I have zero to do with that business.”
Crawford confirmed that the boat had left from one of Pip’s docks on the day of the accident, but that no new lease had been signed with Lighthouse, and that he “couldn’t be positive” as to the exact day the M/V Airborne boat had reappeared before the incident.
“They weren’t there for very long,” he said. “They just showed back up.”
An examination of Florida’s Division of Corporations records as well as Lighthouse Parasail’s former website (flobxfun.com) revealed that owner Alex Winter has resumed operations in Marathon out of Porky’s Bayside Restaurant and Marina under the name of Parasail Middle Keys LLC.
A visit to the marina on June 9 found the M/V Airborne, presumably the same boat involved in the May 2022 incident, docked at the marina. The business’ updated website says the company prides itself on “a perfect safety record.”
The Keys Weekly contacted Winter by phone on June 14. He declined to comment on the relationship between Lighthouse and Captain Pip’s.
