A recent lawsuit has brought to light a chilling incident involving a college graduate who lost both legs after a catastrophic event during a Bahamas tour. The lawsuit alleges that the young woman, Hannah Smith, was given large amounts of alcohol and illegal drugs before being encouraged to jump off a tour boat to relieve herself.
According to the lawsuit, 22-year-old Smith was served rum punch cocktails laced with sedatives by bar staff during a frenzied drinking session on a catamaran. The cocktails were allegedly forced into her mouth, leaving her in a disoriented state.
In her impaired condition, Smith reportedly asked for a place to use the bathroom and was nonchalantly told that “the ocean is your toilet.” This casual remark led to a series of tragic events, as detailed in the federal complaint exclusively reported by the Daily Mail.
As Smith attempted to lower herself into the water, the boat’s captain unexpectedly started the engine. This action resulted in Smith being violently pulled underwater, where she suffered severe injuries from the boat’s propeller.
Rescue efforts eventually brought Smith to safety, but not before she sustained life-altering injuries. The lawsuit describes how her left leg was hanging by only a sliver of skin after the horrific incident.
The accident, which occurred a year ago during a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, left Smith, an aspiring artist from Memphis, Tennessee, in critical condition. She lost 60 percent of her blood and ultimately had both legs amputated as a result of the ordeal.
She is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Carnival and tour operators Sun Cay and Pearl Investment Management Group for negligence and inflicting severe mental and physical suffering.
Hannah’s best friend Brooklyn Pitre, 22, is suing the same set of companies, claiming a bartender groped her buttocks prior to the ‘catastrophic’ accident which left her with PTSD.
Hannah Smith lost both her legs after she was sucked into a ferry propeller during a tropical cruise excursion in the Bahamas last year
Hannah was only saved from drowning when two female passengers managed to grab her arm and heroically haul her back on board
It was Brooklyn who heroically hauled Hannah from the water and saved her life, according to the twin suits filed in Miami US District court.
Hannah was celebrating her graduation summa cum laude from Alabama’s Miles College when she and Brooklyn boarded the Carnival Celebration on May 11 last year in Miami.
They used the Carnival app to book the Pearl Island Beach Escape with Lunch for the following day, trusting that the cruise giant would only recommend safe activities, her suit argues.
The $79.99 excursion involved a ferry trip from Nassau to Pearl Island, a tropical getaway offering pristine sands, snorkeling and encounters with swimming pigs and dolphins.
As soon as they set foot on the island at around 12.15pm, staff began ‘grooming’ them with complimentary 16-ounce cups of rum punch, Hannah’s suit alleges.
A bartender drizzled a potent concoction known as a ‘liter pour’ directly into her mouth until the pretty communications grad was forced to gulp it down in order to breathe.
Her complaint claims the boozy brew had been ‘surreptitiously spiked’ with a ‘sedating substance known to impair alertness, cognitive functioning, and judgment.’
A man Hannah describes as a supervisor or head barman is alleged to have led the pair to a private oceanfront cabana and encouraged them to puff on a marijuana joint.
Hospital photos included in the amended complaint show Hannah Smith recovering after losing both legs in the alleged propeller accident
The young college grad underwent more than two dozen surgeries following the horrific injuries she suffered during the Bahamas excursion
Hannah and her best friend Brooklyn were heading back from an excursion to Pearl Island, a tropical getaway offering pristine beaches, snorkeling, and encounters with swimming pigs and dolphins
Hannah’s lawyers claim she was plied with liquor until her blood alcohol level reached an estimated 0.447 – four times what is considered legally impaired in Florida and high enough to cause coma or death.
Brooklyn’s suit claims that the supervisor positioned himself behind her in the secluded cabana and ‘pressed his hands and groin against her buttocks without her consent.’
She also points to toxicology testing done in the wake of the ensuing accident that allegedly detected traces of a non-therapeutic DFSA (drug-facilitated sexual assault) substance in both women.
It was on the 3.30pm return journey to Nassau, the Bahamian capital, that Delta Sigma sorority sister Hannah complained that she needed to go to the bathroom.
‘The crewmember responded, ‘use the water,’ motioning with his arm and hand to the aft of the Catamaran Ferry where the diver platforms meet the ocean,’ her suit says.
‘This was not the first time Plaintiff was told where she ought to relieve herself due to the unavailability of a nearby restroom.
‘Earlier, while on the Island, Plaintiff was told, ‘the ocean is your toilet,’ by an Island employee after asking where she could relieve herself.
‘However, because the vessel was underway, Plaintiff decided to wait as best she could.’
Promotional images included in the lawsuit advertise the Pearl Island Beach Escape excursion booked through Carnival Cruise Line
The $79.99 excursion involved a ferry trip from Nassau to Pearl Island, a tropical getaway offering pristine sands, snorkeling and encounters with swimming pigs and dolphins
When the boat reached Nassau the captain either turned the engines off or left them idling and so the propellers stopped turning, according to the complaint.
As the passengers disembarked Hannah ‘realized she needed to relieve herself and that she could not hold it any longer.’
Still ‘grossly impaired and compromised’ by the drugs and alcohol, Hannah claims she decided to lower herself into the water from the diving platform.
She held onto a railing while relieving herself for 10 to 12 seconds, according to the suit, all the time believing the engines and propellers were switched off.
‘Plaintiff suddenly felt her lower extremities being sucked under the vessel,’ the complaint says.
‘The Catamaran Ferry’s captain had started and/or engaged (put in gear) the nearest idling engine causing its propeller to turn in reverse.
‘The propeller violently and forcibly sucked Plaintiff underwater and then brutally slashed her about her lower extremities resulting in life-threatening and -altering injuries.’
These included ‘an immediate traumatic amputation’ of Hannah’s lower left leg.
Smith has since been documenting her long road to recovery for the past year on Instagram
She recently shared an emotional Instagram reel of her challenging ordeal one year after the traumatic event, admitting, ‘I could’ve never imagined making it this far a year ago’
Miraculously, she was able to kick herself free with the remaining leg, reach the surface and scream ‘Something’s wrong – grab me.’
‘B.P. reached for Plaintiff and with assistance pulled Plaintiff from the water,’ the suit continues.
‘When Plaintiff was pulled out of the water, her left leg below her knee was almost completely severed except for a sliver of skin, and she had suffered multiple gashes throughout both legs and pelvis area.
‘The injuries caused Plaintiff to lose over 60% of all her blood – by itself life-threatening.’
Hannah was flown to a hospital in Miami in critical condition where she was given 20 units of blood to keep her alive, her suit says.
She underwent 25 surgeries, including the amputation of her right leg, below the knee, before she was discharged more than two months later.
‘Plaintiff continues to have a lengthy journey ahead of her which includes but is not limited to prosthetics and psychological treatment,’ the lawsuit states.
‘Plaintiff’s life has been completely altered by this incident due to Defendants’ negligence.’
She has since undergone months of physical therapy and is learning how to walk again with her new prosthetic legs
Hannah’s suit accuses employees of Pearl Investment Management Group of deceiving her into mixing drugs and excessive alcohol and Sun Cay staff for failing to disembark the ferry safely.
Her lawyers argue that Carnival is jointly responsible because the cruise giant markets the excursion as a vetted and safe outing for passengers.
Brooklyn wants at least $75,000 in damages for negligence, sexual battery and lasting psychological injuries.
She claims she risked her life by ‘single-handedly’ reaching down to help her friend and was left drenched in Hannah’s blood.
Carnival’s lawyers asked Judge William Dimitrouleas, without success, to toss Hannah’s lawsuit because the excursion was operated by independent Bahamian companies, not Carnival itself.
They say it fails to show that Carnival had prior notice of the specific conditions or ‘incompetence’ that caused the accident.
Peter Rebmann, managing partner of Pearl Investment Management Group, argued in a declaration that Florida courts have no jurisdiction over a Bahamian business.
Lawyers for Sun Cay deployed a similar argument, saying the firm has nothing to do with the Sunshine State.
Hannah graduated summa cum laude from Miles College, a historically black liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 2025
The aspiring artist from Tennessee, pictured before the accident, spent more than two months hospitalized after the devastating catamaran incident, according to the lawsuit
They described the incident as a ‘tragic accident in which plaintiff Hannah Smith jumped off the back’ of their catamaran.
Operations manager Jaqueline Frode said in a declaration that her staff had nothing to do with what happened on Pearl Island.
An Instagram video posted a year on from the accident shows brave Hannah learning to walk with prosthetic legs, lifting weights and playing wheelchair basketball.
Well-wishers have donated more than $76,000 towards her medical expenses via GoFundMe.
A spokesperson for Carnival said: ‘Our thoughts are with Ms. Smith, and we wish her strength and healing.
‘At Carnival Cruise Line, we continuously strive to keep our guest and crew safe as a priority. Out of respect for ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further.
‘We remain committed to supporting safety and wellbeing in all we do.’
