Florida boat captain faces federal charge in Elk Grove woman’s 2022 parasailing death
A federal grand jury indicted a Florida boat captain with one count of seaman’s manslaughter in the 2022 parasailing death of an Elk Grove Village woman.
Daniel Gavin Couch, 52, of Marathon, Florida, was employed by Lighthouse Parasail, Inc., in Monroe County, Florida, and operated a commercial parasailing vessel, the M/V Airborne, on the company’s behalf, according to the indictment.
Couch is accused of engaging in misconduct, negligence or inattention to his duties as captain on May 30, 2022, causing the death of 33-year-old Supraja Alaparthi of Elk Grove Village.
If convicted, Couch faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
In September 2022, Couch was charged with manslaughter and violation of commercial parasailing rules by the Monroe County state attorney's office.
Alaparthi was pronounced dead at the scene after the parasail she was riding struck the Old Seven Mile Bridge near Pigeon Key, during a bout of bad weather and heavy winds.
Also injured were her 10-year-old son, Shriakshith Alaparthi, and 9-year-old nephew, Vishant Sadda, the latter of whom spent a week in the hospital, family attorney Michael Haggard said.
The woman’s family filed a wrongful-death and personal injury lawsuit in June 2022 against Lighthouse Parasail Inc.
A second wrongful-death lawsuit was filed a year later against Couch, a crew member and a Florida resort company that owns the marina where the boat was based.
During the initial investigation, authorities found the boat captain cut the line holding Alaparthi and the two boys because the parasail was “dragging” in high winds from a sudden summer storm.
Her husband, daughter and other horrified family members watched from the boat as they were dragged across the water and struck a bridge, attorneys said at a 2023 news conference in Chicago. Alaparthi’s husband told reporters that his son and nephew were doing better physically a year after the crash but still dealing with “emotional trauma.”
According to the family's attorneys, the Alaparthis, their two children and extended family members were visiting the Keys when they booked the parasailing trip. Family members told employees they would come back the next day if the weather prevented parasailing but were reassured it would be OK, the lawyers said.