Here’s an update on a terrible crash into the Port Everglades Jetty last New Year’s Eve from the Sun-Sentinel:
FORT LAUDERDALE — They celebrated her birthday with a late-night cruise through the Intracoastal Waterway on a powerboat dubbed Blue Steel. Nothing too daring or adventurous; they would be out for only a few short hours.
They ended up bloodied and confused on a dark jetty near the end of the inlet at Port Everglades. Lauren Silagyi, who was celebrating her 33rd birthday on Dec. 30, fell onto the jagged rocks and ended up with a traumatic brain injury in the early hours of New Year’s Eve. She has since undergone two brain surgeries, including a craniotomy to relieve the pressure from a buildup of blood and spinal fluid in her skull, according to a lawsuit filed in Broward County against the boat’s pilot, Daniel Towriss.
She’ll never be the same again, according to her attorney, Jack Hickey. Silagyi and her husband, Jarret, are suing Towriss, the CEO of an insurance company with $37 billion in assets and the owner of the 42-foot Hydra-Sports Custom boat. They are seeking more than $100 million in damages, Hickey said.
“I don’t think she’ll ever return to work. She’ll never return to 100% functioning,” Hickey said. He’s a Miami maritime attorney who specializes in cases involving traumatic brain injuries. “The thing about a brain injury that is this severe is you lose yourself, you lose your personality.”
No one kept a lookout as Towriss drove, the lawsuit said. According to the lawsuit, Towriss was driving the speedboat so fast it planed over the water and Jarret Silagyi had to grab ahold of the boat to avoid losing his balance.
Towriss missed the turn into the port on the first try and tried circling back, the lawsuit says. On the second try, the boat plowed into the unlit jetty and landed at a precarious angle, wedged against the rocks. Dealing with the unstable boat was complicated, and rescue crews used struts to secure it in place and to keep it from falling onto them. Read more:
