The parents of a Massachusetts teenager who died after she was struck by a boat while tubing in Aruba last year are speaking out in the hopes of raising awareness and preventing further tragedies, according to local reports.
Cassidy Murray, 13, was tubing in the Caribbean island in March 2022 when she fell into the water, according to several reports. The driver of the boat was approaching Cassidy when he "lost control" and struck the budding teen, said her father, Dave Murray, to ABC News.
"She was in the water, had a life jacket on. I waved at her. She was safe," Murray told the news station. "As [the boat driver] approached Cassidy, just as he got to her, he lost control of the boat. ... He pulled it in full throttle."
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The boat was not carrying any first aid materials, and no extra manpower to assist, Murray went on.
"If there was a second person on the boat, even if there was a spotter, he would have seen we would have had an option to slow it down or he would have seen as soon as Cassidy was ejected."
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Local authorities reportedly determined there was no cause for criminal charges. The family is now working with Aruban authorities to spread awareness and stop similar tragedies before they start.
"We didn’t know the dangers. We weren’t aware. We want to create awareness," Linda Murray, Cassidy's mother, told WCVB.com. "If we can save one family, one child, we’ve honored Cass and created awareness."
Among efforts, the Murrays are reportedly asking Aruban officials to establish and enforce water safety protocols, such as mandating that a second person be added to support drivers on water sports vessels.
Murray noted that her daughter "died so tragically, so unnecessarily."
"We quickly learned we have to participate in life even though we don’t want to," she told WCVB. "Our goal has always been to create awareness to prevent another family from going through this."
Multiple GoFundMe pages were created to benefit Cassidy's family in the wake of her death.
