NTSB To Investigate Tourist Parasailing Death
POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) — The National Transportation Safety Board will send an agent to investigate a tragic death after a tourist died during a South Florida parasailing accident.
Kathleen Miskell, 28, and her husband, both from Connecticut, were on vacation in Pompano Beach when they decided to go parasailing on Wednesday.
Officials said Miskell fell as much as 200 feet in the Atlantic Ocean when her harness broke while parasailing. A boat crew circled back to rescue her after first reeling her husband in from out of the water.
Miskell then went into cardiac arrest on the way to meet up with paramedics while the captain of the boat crew performed CPR, said officials.
According to authorities, Miskell was pronounced dead at the hospital.
On Friday, the agency said that Larry Bowling will assist the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard with the investigation of Miskell's death.
CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald is reporting that the boat operator, Case Fuller, 28, was in possession of a valid captain's license at the time of the accident. He also had a criminal record.
The paper uncovered court documents showing Fuller's 2006 conviction on felony grand theft and forgery. According to information they obtained from the Broward Sheriff's Office, Fuller was arrested in Lighthouse Point on charges he passed a bad check for $3,700 at a Grab-and-Go store. The check was written on an account named "Hobo's Fish Joint".
Fuller was placed on probation and and was ordered to complete community service, but was arrested on a probation violation two years after.
The Coast Guard, which certifies boat captain's licenses, was aware of his criminal past when issuing Fuller the license in 2011, according to the paper. Records show that officials determined that either too much time had elapsed since his arrest, or the charges were not relevant to him operating a a commercial boat.
(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
