Batten reportedly turned the boat around and headed back to shore upon noticing electrical problems. He then grounded the boat in shallow waters before informing passengers to jump.<\/p>\n
\nPort Richey Police Chief Gerard DeCanio said this week, “Had that captain not brought it closer and run it aground \u2026 I think we would have had a lot more fatalities.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nHowever, some passengers said the casino staff was less than hospitable. A TripAdvisor review from a passenger claimed, “When the boat caught fire they pushed people over the railing. No good evacuation plans, the staff were jumping off the ship before the passengers.”<\/p>\n
Boat Inspected, Captain Licensed<\/h2>\n
The Tropical Breeze Casino operates under maritime law, which takes effect once the boat is at least 12 miles from shore. The US Coast Guard’s investigation is ongoing, but did confirm that the Island Lady<\/i> held a valid Certificate of Inspection, and Batten held a 100-ton captain’s license.<\/p>\n
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating the accident.<\/p>\n
Tropical Breeze said the Island Lady <\/i>was put into operation in late 2015. “In the two years the company has used it, the vessel has safely transported thousands of passengers,” a statement declared.<\/strong><\/p>\nOnboard passengers said they were notified by crew that there was some sort of electrical fire, and were instructed to move to the top deck. Moments later, with the fire raging, there was no other option other than to evacuate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Florida casino boat operator Tropical Breeze Casino, LLC, is being sued by a 65-year-old woman who survived the company’s recent shuttle fire that forced passengers to jump off the vessel and ended with one person dead. In a lawsuit filed in Pasco Circuit Court, attorneys for Debrah Jero allege Tropical Breeze’s negligence resulted in her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":68217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Casino Boat Operator, Captain Hailed<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n