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Key West World Powerboat Championship: Racer Jeffrey Tillman Killed By Incompetence (Video)
Audio By Carbonatix
The crash killed two men It was one of the most spectacular and horrible crashes in South Florida marine history. A powerboat traveling more than 130 miles per hour flipped over backward and two men drowned beneath the hull in a world championship event as rescue workers struggled to reach the site.
Now, a lawsuit filed in Fort Lauderdale charges the pair, Jeffrey Tillman and his 74-year-old throttleman, Bob Morgan, died unnecessarily.
The suit was filed November 7, just as this past weekend's races in Key West started.. More than 40 boats competed against one another to run the 6.2 mile course.
Miami is a powerboating mecca. Its role in the trade was highlighted in 1987, with the gangland style killing of Don Aronow , the greatest powerboat racer of all time. During that era, the boats were often used to transport cocaine to the United States from the Caribbean.
Tillman and Morgan were killed in November 2011 when their boat flipped over. It took rescue workers nine minutes to reach them, charges the lawsuit filed by attorney William Scherer, because race sponsors incorrectly assumed they were killed by blunt trauma,.
The race was later cancelled because a second boat turned over, and rescue workers were stretched too thin to continue.
Three days later, a second driver, Joey Gratton, was killed when his boat flipped over. His widow has also sued race organizers Superboat International Productions and President John Carbonell. That suit is presently scheduled to go to trial early next year.
Autopsies after the accident showed Tillman and Morgan died from drowning. Saltwater was discovered in their lungs.
The suit faults race sponsors for allowing Tillman's boat to continue even though it didn't have a reinforced cockpit or a through-hull escape hatch, which might have saved the men, According to the Associated Press, boat teams now have to share safety plans with race sponsors, which was not required in the past.
Send your story tips to the author, Chuck Strouse.
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All the Powerboat Crashes, Jumps, and Awesome Footage You’ll Ever Want To See
See the worst, craziest, biggest crashes in offshore powerboating!
(Video Cred: Offshore PowerBoat Racing Videos )
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VIDEO: Powerboat goes airborne, crashes during race in Florida Keys
KEY WEST, Florida (WABC) -- A shocking speed boat crash in the Florida Keys was caught on camera..
Amazingly, everyone involved walked away with only minor injuries.
The boats were racing at the Annual Key West Super Boat World Championships when boat number 18 flew over boat number 3.
Boat 18 then went airborne before flipping over and crashing into the water.
Both boats are severely damaged and will no longer be able to compete.
But no one inside the boat was seriously hurt.
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VIDEO: Dramatic double boat flip kicks off Race World Offshore Key West Championships
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Offshore powerboat racers Billy Mauff and Jay Muller have piloted WHM Motorsports to lead the Super Cat-class after the first of three competition days at the Race World Offshore Key West Championships in the Florida Keys.
Mauff, of East Setauket, New York, and Muller, of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, easily placed first, leading at Wednesday's start and never looking back.
CR Racing, with Robert Unnerstall of Wentzville, Missouri, and Casey Boaz of Osage Beach, Missouri, leads the Super Stock class.
A dramatic two-boat accident occurred on the fifth lap of the Super Stock race. LPC and Team Allen Lawn Care landed upside-down between Turns 2 and 3.
Officials say several crew members were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Racing is to continue Friday with finals on Sunday.
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The mishap happened late on Thursday when the 75-foot yacht named "Taihoro" was being removed from the water after racing. Team leader Grant Dalton said the multimillion-dollar boat fell some six meters (20 feet) onto the support cradle at their team base inside Barcelona's old port. Dalton said the impact sounded "like a bomb went off."
New Zealand said its AC75 America's Cup boat had sustained damage while being craned out of the water in Barcelona and they will not be racing on Friday as they assess its full extent.
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