Very sad, and a good reason to always drag around that dive flag.
Bayside lobster diver killed in boat accident
By STEVE GIBBS
keysnews.com
PLANTATION KEY -- He worked out at the Mariners Wellness Center six days a week, and was a vigorous swimmer at age 79.
On Tuesday, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, Charles Haddad was diving for lobster with a friend when a 23-foot Contender driven by a Plantation Key couple struck both men, killing Haddad.
A neighbor witnessed the accident and confirmed that the pair did not use the required diver's down flag, according to a report by Lt. Ed Maldonado of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who assisted in the investigation.
The accident occurred about 100 yards offshore from Haddad's bayside home near Mile Marker 88, where he was diving for lobster with Charles Arthur Stone, 74, of Tavernier.
"We are going to miss him more than we can say. We'll miss his independent personality. He was part of the [Mariners Hospital] family," said Leah Holzwarth, Mariners' Wellness Center Director.
"He was a true character," Holzwarth said. "He was full of fun, life and joy."
Haddad would greet Holzwarth and her staff every morning when they opened at 6 a.m., as he entered for his morning workout.
"We joked that he should have a key to the center," she said. "He would have to be finished with his workout by 9 a.m. three days a week so he could have breakfast in the hospital cafeteria with his buddies. It was a ritual for him."
One of those buddies, Stone, was not seriously injured.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officer Jay Marvin responded, arriving just minutes after receiving the call.
The Contender was driven by Scott J. Dennison, 47, and approached the divers at approximately 30 knots.
Dennison's wife, Catherine Dennison, 45, told Marvin that she did not see the snorkelers until the last minute when they surfaced, and by then it was too late to avoid hitting them.
Stone was struck by the hull of the vessel and received a minor injury to his head. Haddad was struck by the boat's propeller.
Catherine Dennison, who recently completed a rescue-training course, jumped into the water and brought Haddad to the boat's transom.
Once the victims were at the boat Scott Dennison and passenger Roy E. Terjesen, 59, pulled both victims on board and applied first aid. They quickly brought the men to shore where Islamorada Fire and Rescue was standing by.
Stone refused medical treatment, but Haddad was taken to the helicopter pad across from the old Mariners Hospital where Monroe County's Trauma Star helicopter relayed him to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Haddad was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m.
Bayside lobster diver killed in boat accident
By STEVE GIBBS
keysnews.com
PLANTATION KEY -- He worked out at the Mariners Wellness Center six days a week, and was a vigorous swimmer at age 79.
On Tuesday, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, Charles Haddad was diving for lobster with a friend when a 23-foot Contender driven by a Plantation Key couple struck both men, killing Haddad.
A neighbor witnessed the accident and confirmed that the pair did not use the required diver's down flag, according to a report by Lt. Ed Maldonado of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who assisted in the investigation.
The accident occurred about 100 yards offshore from Haddad's bayside home near Mile Marker 88, where he was diving for lobster with Charles Arthur Stone, 74, of Tavernier.
"We are going to miss him more than we can say. We'll miss his independent personality. He was part of the [Mariners Hospital] family," said Leah Holzwarth, Mariners' Wellness Center Director.
"He was a true character," Holzwarth said. "He was full of fun, life and joy."
Haddad would greet Holzwarth and her staff every morning when they opened at 6 a.m., as he entered for his morning workout.
"We joked that he should have a key to the center," she said. "He would have to be finished with his workout by 9 a.m. three days a week so he could have breakfast in the hospital cafeteria with his buddies. It was a ritual for him."
One of those buddies, Stone, was not seriously injured.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officer Jay Marvin responded, arriving just minutes after receiving the call.
The Contender was driven by Scott J. Dennison, 47, and approached the divers at approximately 30 knots.
Dennison's wife, Catherine Dennison, 45, told Marvin that she did not see the snorkelers until the last minute when they surfaced, and by then it was too late to avoid hitting them.
Stone was struck by the hull of the vessel and received a minor injury to his head. Haddad was struck by the boat's propeller.
Catherine Dennison, who recently completed a rescue-training course, jumped into the water and brought Haddad to the boat's transom.
Once the victims were at the boat Scott Dennison and passenger Roy E. Terjesen, 59, pulled both victims on board and applied first aid. They quickly brought the men to shore where Islamorada Fire and Rescue was standing by.
Stone refused medical treatment, but Haddad was taken to the helicopter pad across from the old Mariners Hospital where Monroe County's Trauma Star helicopter relayed him to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Haddad was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m.
