I was talking to friend that lives in key west today and she said the SBI law suit is on the front page of the paper today. She hadn't heard any local talk about it yet. Curious what the other locals and business owners start saying about this november coming up.

http://keysnews.com/node/38051

Widow sues over boat crash
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
[email protected]
The widow of a Sarasota powerboat racer who died in Super Boat International's 31st annual Key West World Championships last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man who organized the race and his two race medical directors.

Priscilla Gratton accuses Key West resident John Carbonell, president of Super Boat International Productions Inc. (SBI), and race medical directors Donald DiPetrillo and Brian Haff of knowingly disregarding industry safety standards in the Nov. 11 crash of the Page Motorsports boat in which throttle man Joey Gratton, 59, drowned, according to a 43-page lawsuit filed in Broward County on Friday.

Unbeknownst to the racers, "SBI instituted a policy devised by Carbonell, which designated two untrained, inexperienced, and ill-equipped volunteers deployed on a nearby boat, to serve as first responders to any accident which might occur in turn one," Priscilla Gratton's attorney, Michael Allweiss, wrote in the lawsuit.

The twin-engine, 38-foot Douglas Marine Skater catamaran overturned on the first turn in the final lap of the second race on the 6.1-mile course, trapping Gratton in a rescue harness that was secured to the boat. The volunteer rescuers were unfamiliar with the cockpits and emergency hatches on the boats, the lawsuit states.

"Making matters even worse, defendants made no adjustments and failed to cure the obvious defects and deficiencies in their policies following the drowning deaths of the Big Thunder crew during the Nov. 9 race," Allweiss wrote.

Robert "Bob" Morgan, 74, of Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Jeffrey "JT" Tillman, 47, of Kaiser, Mo., were killed when their 46-foot catamaran caught air and flipped over on its third lap.

Allweiss alleges that Carbonell employed untrained emergency crew as a "cost-saving measure," according to the lawsuit. He also alleges the defendants should have immediately deployed the "Angels" or trained rescuers in helicopters hovering over the race. The defendants allegedly waited two minutes to deploy the Angels, which contributed to Gratton's death, the lawsuit states.

"Defendants allowed the volunteer divers to trudge their way toward the escape hatch opening, knowing they were severely unqualified and lacked the necessary knowledge, training, skills and experience to save Mr. Gratton's life," the lawsuit states. "With each passing second the boat took on more water and began to sink, bow up. Defendants exacerbated that increasingly dangerous situation by refusing to stop the race." An attorney for Carbonell and SBI, William Milliken of Miami, said Wednesday that his clients had not been served yet, but that he was aware of the lawsuit. Milliken said he will respond via legal filings and declined to comment.

No criminal charges have been filed in the incident. All three men's deaths were ruled accidental by medical examiners.

"We have two drownings that Wednesday and then a third drowning that Friday," Allweiss said, referring to Nov. 9 and Nov. 11. "That's unprecedented and unheard of. Mr. Carbonell and his closest sponsors owe it to the community down there, the city and the Gratton family to explain that."

There was no trial date set in Broward circuit court as of Wednesday. The case was filed in Broward County because it is more centrally located for all parties, the lawsuit states.

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There was a very similar article in last Monday's Miami Herald

Really ? Why do the sponsors owe an explination?

It's a major tragedy. It has affects on all parts of the "go-fast" industry. I just wish for once that somebody would take responsibility for their actions. Racing is dangerous. If it wasn't, maybe more people would do it. Sometimes in racing, accidents happen. Guess whos fault it is, thats right- the person who is racing. Nobody put a gun to their head and made them race. They chose to race. Did they think that they were going to crash and die that day ? Absolutely not, but guess what- they didn't know they weren't going to crash that day either. When push comes to shove, it was a racing accident. It sucks, but it happens sometimes. Believe it or not, the guy that pulled some cash out of his pocket to try to help this sport survive, and sponsor an event, really has nothing to do with a racing accident. I'm tired of everything being someone elses fault. Their are many people behind the scenes of racing that keep this beautiful sport going ( with very little money ), and it is very appreciated by lots of us fans of the sport, I just can't even imagine dealing with all the nonsense of it. Sorry, I write it like I see it

Don't be sorry. You speak the truth! It's the spineless prik s that go after blame that should be saying sorry.

no need to be sorry. I think most of us agree with you 100%

Who knows! We'll find out. Maybe they said......"hey, we need to cut some expenses.......what can you do?"

Blake , Brock , Priscilla I stand by you!

as do i,and most others,how could a racing body such as SBI even entertain the thaught of cutting corners by getting untrained people as resquer,s?to say the law suit should not happen because the racer,s knew the risk is like saying,don,t sue if the jet airliner i am flying runs out of fuel and crashes,thats the risk i take when flying,or like saying,im not going to sue the driver of the car that just ran off the road and hit&killed my son,that,s the risk we take when we walk on the sidewalk and cars are in the street.in this free country we live in,we can think however we want,no secret how i think!