High School Senior Killed, Several Injured in Boating Crash Near Boca Chita Key

FOX3 has been informed by sources that one of the 11 injured passengers, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy who was 17 years old, has passed away.

School officials in South Florida have confirmed that a high school senior was killed in a boating accident that occurred Sunday night off the coast of Cutler Bay.

A boat carrying 14 people hit a channel marker and sank close to Boca Chita Key. Among the passengers was a young woman named Lucy Fernandez, who was 17 years old. The injuries that Fernandez sustained caused her to pass away early on Monday morning. She was a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami.

Lucy was known for her grin, larger-than-life demeanour, and distinctive laugh, according to an email sent to the school community by Lourdes Academy authorities. “She was a young woman of faith who was well-liked by her professors and peers and who was sympathetic, devout, and hungry for God.

Eleven of the fourteen people on the boat were injured, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. According to officials, seven persons sustained minor injuries, while three were in severe condition. The passengers in critical condition were flown to a hospital in Miami.

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department dispatched more than ten units to the area, where they collaborated with maritime patrol units from the Miami-Dade Police Department, the United States Coast Guard, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove it.

The majority of the passengers were teenagers attending Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, two all-girls Catholic schools in Miami-Dade County, according to sources cited by FOX3.

Initial report:

At approximately 6:45 p.m. on Sunday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department all responded to the location of the wreck.

According to the earliest reports, a boat that had approximately a dozen persons on board was involved in a collision with a pole of some kind.

The victims were transferred to Black Point Marina in South Miami-Dade by the initial responders. From there, the paramedics airlifted three patients to local hospitals, while the remaining patients were transported by ground.

Back at the Black Point Marina, individuals who appeared to be members of the victim’s family communicated with the first responders.

Officials with the MDFR reported that six of the victims sustained non-life threatening injuries. They underwent inspection by workers stationed at the marina.

As the authorities continue their investigation into the collision, they have not revealed any other details about it.