Last Saturday, on Florida’s Biscayne Bay, Claudia Orellanes and Neil Schwabe were thrown from his twin-engine, 27-foot center console as it spun wildly out of control at high speed.
As the boat circled, its propellers tragically struck both Orellanes and Schwabe inflicting serious wounds before taking off with no one at the controls. This is the second powerboat fatality on the bay in the last week.
Orellanes was pulled from the water by nearby rescuers but died from her injuries. Schwabe was airlifted to an area hospital but as of Thursday no report on his condition had been published.
Dramatic video shows the boat speeding in circles with no one at the helm before a law enforcement officer bravely jumps aboard and stops the engines.
The deadly accident comes only days after a local man and his son were struck in a hit-and-run accident while out for an evening ride on the bay. Daniel Veglia and his son were in their 7-foot dinghy near Miami Beach when they were struck by a much larger vessel going at high speed.
A local bystander heard the son calling for help and ran to the end of a nearby dock where he could see the people in the water.
“We instantly called the cops, let them know everything. I yelled for him to float before the cops came, and he floated. He was, like, floating there with his dad, holding him,” Enzo Avelino recalled.
Viglia died from his injuries. The hit-and run vessel is still being sought by authorities. Anyone with information about the accident should contact the Miami Beach police.
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