A 22-year-old college graduate had both legs amputated after a boat propeller struck her when she jumped overboard during a drunken excursion in the Bahamas, according to a lawsuit.
Hannah Smith, who had just graduated summa cum laude from Miles College in Alabama, was on a Catamaran Ferry trip to Pearl Island Beach during a Carnival cruise last May. The lawsuit claims that bar staff plied her with rum punch cocktails spiked with sedatives, and when she asked for a restroom, she was told, “The ocean is your toilet,” prompting her to jump into the water.
As she entered the water, the ferry captain started the engine, causing Smith to be “violently and forcibly grabbed, sucked underwater and brutally slashed,” according to the federal complaint. Her left leg was immediately amputated by the propeller, and she suffered severe injuries to her right leg and pelvis. Her friend Brooklyn Pitre helped pull her from the water.
Smith was rushed to a hospital in Nassau and then flown to Miami in critical condition, having lost over 60% of her blood. She underwent 25 surgeries, including the amputation of her right leg below the knee, and was discharged two months later.
The lawsuit alleges that staff “groomed” Smith and her friends with complimentary 16-ounce cups of rum punch, and that a bartender poured a potent drink spiked with a sedating substance directly into her mouth. Another worker encouraged them to smoke marijuana. Smith’s blood alcohol level was 0.447, four times the legal limit for driving in Florida.
Smith is suing the tour group Pearl Investment Management Group, boat operator Sun Cay, and Carnival Cruise Line for negligence. A Carnival spokesperson said, “Our thoughts are with Ms. Smith, and we wish her strength and healing,” but declined further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings.
