The mother of a 15-year-old boy who was killed in March after being ejected from a boat in Florida has filed a lawsuit against the minor driver, claiming that his parents were irresponsible for letting the two boys go out on Tampa Bay without adult supervision and that the minor driver was “under the influence of alcohol” before the crash.
Breck Moorefield filed a civil lawsuit in Pinellas County court on behalf of her son Collin Moorefield’s estate. The lawsuit alleges that Anjan and Katherine Tharakan were the owners of the “115-horsepower” Key West 188 BR and that they permitted their son, C.T., to operate the boat on March 3, 2024, despite the fact that they “knew or should have known” that the teen was “ill-equipped, in-experienced, or both, to safely operate the Key West, especially without an adult experienced in operating power watercraft present.”
According to the lawsuit, “Anjan and Katherine knew of C.T.’s plan and allowed C.T. to take Collin Moorefield out on the Key West without appropriate supervision and without ensuring that C.T. did not take alcohol with them on the Key West, from the family get-together or elsewhere.”
The suit also sought damages exceeding $50,000 under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, a jury trial, and payment for funeral and medical expenses.
The boat’s 15-year-old driver struck a wharf in St. Petersburg in March, sending Collin Moorefield and himself flying off the 18-foot craft, according to a March WFLA report.
Moorefield suffered fatal injuries from blunt force trauma and drowning at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, whereas C.T. was rescued out of the water and lived.
The lawsuit’s reasoning is simple: Collin Moorefield would never have been “violently cast overboard” that day if not for the named defendants’ purportedly careless actions.
In the lawsuit, it was claimed that C.T. had Collin and another youngster on the boat when he left the Tharakan residence, dropped the other boy off so he could ride a bike home, and then drove the boat “at or near its top-speed of 43.5 miles per hour” while “distracted and under the influence of alcohol.”
The complaint said that instead of paying attention to his surroundings, the driver was “focusing on his cell phone for a prolonged period of time, attempting to change the music he was playing over the Key West’s speakers.”
“Distracted and inhibited by alcohol, C.T. drove the Key West south, narrowly missing a dock before forcefully and violently striking the next dock and lower unit of a boat it held.”
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According to Collin Moorefield’s obituary, he is left by his parents and two brothers. The eighth-grader was an accomplished athlete who also loved “music, fishing, and food,” as well as taking family vacations around the United States and Europe.
“He was known for his ability to make you laugh, his handsome smile, genuine respect for others, thoughtfulness, adventurous spirit, and easygoing personality,” the obit stated.
There was no counsel of record for the defendants listed on the court docket. Go here to read the lawsuit.
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