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Miami-Dade, FL - Boating accidents surged across Florida in 2024, prompting the passage of “Lucy’s Law,” a new safety measure imposing harsher penalties for reckless and impaired boating.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the state logged 685 reportable boat mishaps in 2024 up from 659 a year earlier.
Miami‑Dade County led the state with 75 incidents while Monroe and Palm Beach counties followed closely with 69 and 45 respectively.
News coverage from NBC CBS and ABC highlights several serious events in South Florida this year.
On June 6th authorities responded to a burning marina near Northeast 163rd Street and Collins Avenue where six boats were destroyed.
Officials said that a total loss would have occurred had firefighters not acted swiftly.
On May 28th a thirty foot vessel caught fire in Fort Lauderdale and a man allegedly suffered serious burns after jumping overboard and was taken to Broward Health Medical Center.
Investigators suspect fuel vapors ignited causing the blast.
Earlier on May 26th a catastrophic explosion at a sandbar near the New River Triangle sent eleven people to hospital.
Reports say a man who was severely burned later died and that fuel vapors may have contributed to the accident.
Florida lawmakers recently approved Lucy s Law a new statute named for seventeen year old Luciana Fernandez who died after her boat struck a channel marker in 2022.
This legislation which takes effect July first imposes stricter penalties for reckless boating boating under the influence and leaving accident scenes with injuries or fatalities.
Convictions may lead to prison sentences of four years or more.
Officials agree that education life jackets and tougher enforcement must be prioritized to curb this alarming trend on Florida waterways.