A series of deaths and injuries may lead to stronger oversight of Florida’s parasailing industry. Victims and their families are lobbying lawmakers in Tallahassee for help. Crystal White was 17-years-old when she and her younger sister went parasailing in Pompano Beach in 2007. White says she remembers the boat operator talking about bad weather approaching, but he sent them up anyway. Then, the wind picked up.
“Suddenly we noticed we were over the beach and that it felt like we were being pulled, and the wind was blowing so hard against us and our parasail that we could barely even breathe," White said. "I just remember screaming and yelling down for the operator of the boat to help me and my sister.”
White recalls hearing a loud pop, and that’s all she remembers after that. She and her sister were slammed into a hotel. 15-year-old Amber White died two days later.
Since 2001, six people have been killed and nearly two dozen injured in parasailing accidents in Florida.
A bill filed by Senator Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, would strengthen safety standards and impose weather restrictions for parasail operators. It would also require operators to have at least $1 million of liability insurance.