Triple investigations continued last week into the death of a South Carolina man who was parasailing in the Gulf of Mexico June 27 when he made an emergency landing after a mechanical failure on the boat.
Authorities with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Manatee County Medical Examiner’s Office are looking into the death of David Richard Sieradzki, 31, an IT expert from Fountain Inn, S.C.
Sieradzki was parasailing about 1.5 miles off the coast of Longboat Key with a Fun N Sun crew out of Bradenton Beach. At about 5:30 p.m. that Monday, the boat’s engine suffered a mechanical failure, causing the vessel to slow and forcing Sieradzki to make an emergency landing in the water.
Authorities reported that witnesses saw the man wave when he reached the water. But at some point in the next few minutes, as he was pulled into the boat by the Almost Heaven crew, Sieradzki became “unresponsive.”
The parasailing crew, as well as rescue teams from the Coast Guard and Manatee County Emergency Medical Services attempted to revive Sieradzki, but he was pronounced dead at 5:55 p.m.
An initial autopsy was inconclusive as to the cause and manner of death, so the medical examiner’s investigation continued last week.
FWC spokesman Gary Morse said his agency’s review also remains open.
So does the coast guard’s, said spokesman Michael DeNyse. “These investigations take time,” he said.