Insets: Catherine Viteri (Leesfield and Partners). Background: The Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami, Fla., where Catherine Viteri was going to summer camp when her alleged boating injury occurred (Google Maps).
An 11-year-old girl at a summer camp in Florida suffered severe injuries after being struck by a boat propeller while swimming, according to a lawsuit. The incident left her leg with deep lacerations, described as “permanently mutilated.”
Catherine Viteri, the child of Michelle and Bolivar Viteri, experienced a devastating end to her “fun and thrilling” camp at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami. The family’s attorney, Justin Shapiro, revealed that a camp counselor allegedly drove a motorboat over her, cutting her summer short in a horrifying manner, he shared with Law&Crime.
“The boat’s propeller tore open her leg down to the bone, nearly severing it,” Shapiro explained. “The injury severed all muscles and nerves, leaving disfiguring scars in a prominent area of her leg. She will face lifelong functional challenges because of this injury.”
The counselor in question, Myles Carter Holt, 21, is accused of failing to keep track of the campers, including Catherine, and inadvertently running over her with the boat. Her parents have filed a lawsuit against both Holt and the sailing club, seeking $10 million in damages.
According to the complaint, Holt was operating a 2008 13-foot Ribcraft motorboat on July 10 when the accident occurred. Catherine was engaged in a “swimming activity” as Holt transported a group of children to the same location, the document states.
“Due to his inattention, defendant Holt was oblivious to the number of children on the boat and in the water,” the complaint outlines. “He drove the boat directly into the area where children were swimming, unaware of their presence. Consequently, Holt ran over Catherine with the propeller, resulting in a catastrophic and life-altering injury.”
In addition to Holt, Catherine’s parents are also suing two other counselors, Aden Weinberg and Sara Ortiz Vey, who were supposed to be supervising the children during the swimming activity, according to the complaint. They are both accused of “failing to provide adequate and reasonable supervision.”
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club did not respond to requests for comment by Law&Crime on Tuesday.
“This was not a situation where some random boater out in the ocean didn’t know there were children swimming there; this was the camp counselor,” Shapiro said in his statement provided to Law&Crime.
“This is the guy who’s supposed to be protecting and supervising these children, and he ran Cate over with the propeller of the boat,” Shapiro says. “Cate’s parents knew there were risks when you go out in the ocean, but they never would have imagined that the risk was the camp counselor.”
Shapiro adds, “Of all the dangers out in the ocean, and there are many, the camp counselor is supposed to protect the kids from the danger. The counselor is not supposed to be the danger.”
