Husband Sues Boat Captain After Parasail Allegedly Dragged His Wife for 2 Miles Before Slamming Into a Bridge
Man speaks out after his wife was killed in a parasail accident.
It was supposed to be their dream vacation. Srinivasrao Alaparthi and his wife Supraja Alaparthi, 33, decided to celebrate their son's 10th birthday with a trip to the Florida Keys last year over Memorial Day weekend. The Chicago-area based family headed to the beach along with other family members, including their 9-year-old nephew, but things took a tragic turn. Supraja was killed in a parasailing accident and both boys were injured.
A year later, Alaparthi is speaking out and warning others to stay safe ahead of summer family getaways. "We are trying [our] best to focus on the happy memories we shared with my wife and keep her memories alive," he told reporters.
On May 30th, 2022, Srinivasrao watched as his wife went parasailing with their son and nephew. Around 5:30 p.m. the three were strapped in and set off, but a "strong" gust of wind "pegged" the parasail, which became "controlled by the weather conditions," and not the boat operator, according to an incident report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission previously obtained by PEOPLE.
Under these conditions, the parasail chute "essentially becomes a sail and starts impeding the safe operation of the vessel."
When the wind picked up, the captain cut the line. "With the parasail pegged, the Captain cut the line tethered to" the three victims, per the report. They then "dropped from an unknown height" and were "dragged through the water by the inflated parasail."
Supraja and the two boys were dragged through the water until the parasail collided with the Old Seven Mile Bridge near Pigeon Key, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement a few days after the incident, according to ABC News. The outlet reports, "The woman and one of the boys were unconscious following the collision," police said.
Supraja was pronounced dead on scene and the two boys were injured. A man who was boating was nearby and stepped in to help, a news release states. "A good Samaritan arrived on scene, took the three parasailers aboard and brought them to Sunset Grill Marina where they were transferred to emergency medical technicians. They were taken to Fisherman's Hospital in Marathon."
John Callion, a bystander and charter boat captain was one of the first on the scene. "I had thought the parasail had just hit the bridge and the people were just going to be dangling when I got there," he told Good Morning America. "But they actually — it was a much worse situation."
Mark McCulloh, who founded the Parasail Safety Council and pushed to strengthen industry laws, said the line should have never been cut. "I know exactly what that captain was feeling but you never cut the boat line, no way," he told NBC News. "I would never train somebody to do that. That's their lifeline."
McCulloh said he's been in a similar situation as the captain, but would still never cut the line. "It's happened to me too many times and I've got caught in weather like that," he said. "I waited for the storm to pass."
He added, "I would rather wait out the storm, even if it scares the hell out of the passengers. I would rather have them come and yell at me for being an idiot than what's happened here," he continued. "Even if I was being dragged backward or had a hard time … I would just wait until the wind dies down."
The boat's captain, Daniel Couch was arrested in September and charged with manslaughter along with multiple boating violations. He's pleaded not guilty. "I can't help but think that if the people we trusted from the parasailing company and Captain Pip's Marina had done their jobs, my wife would still be with us today," Alaparthi told reporters. "We trusted these companies, but they let us down in the worst possible way."
"There were so many opportunities for them to stop this from happening but yet, there's failure, after failure, after failure," Pedro Echarte, one of the attorneys for Alaparthi and his family, told GMA. He reminded people how important it is to not just rely on company websites to book activities. "Don't rely upon the signage. Don't rely upon the websites. Ask questions. 'What are your policies? What are your procedures? What type of safety equipment you have?' If it doesn't smell right, if it doesn't seem right, don't go," said Echarte.
