Parasailing crash kills two at Beach

By Sharon Turco, sturco@news-press.com

FORT MYERS BEACH — A vacationing Kentucky woman and her 13-year-old daughter died Wednesday afternoon after plunging 200 feet into the Gulf of Mexico while parasailing.

Lisabeth Hope Bailey Straney, 37, and her daughter, Taylor Straney, fell into about 3 feet of water when the parasail’s harness came apart, said Lt. Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

	COLLECTING EVIDENCE: Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission carry the harness and parachute involved in a parasailing accident on Fort Myers Beach. A mother and her daughter fell to their deaths on Mulholland Point. Click on image to enlarge.

Hope Straney died at Lee Memorial Hospital, and her daughter died at HealthPark Medical Center. They were taken to the hospitals after the 12:30 p.m. accident near the Holiday Inn Gulfside on Fort Myers Beach, Morse said.

Morse said weather played a part in the deadly accident, but more investigation is needed before it can be determined exactly what happened to the harness.

Six parasailors had set out at noon for an afternoon of fun on the Gulf aboard a Premium Parasail boat from AA Parasail and Waverunners, Etc. Inc., based in Fort Myers Beach.

On board were boat captain Scott Siddon, his co-worker, Chris Benjamin, and four other parasailers, including Kristen Bailey, 18, Taylor’s half sister from Lawrence, Ga., and Catherine Glacken, 18, a friend of the Straneys from Radcliff, Ky., Morse said.

As they took turns parasailing off the “Hang ’em High,” a storm approached. Wind gusting up to 25 mph whipped up waves and a heavy downpour pelted the sand.

Riding together and attached to one harness, the mother and daughter were in the air when the storm hit.

As they were being reeled toward the boat, the harness came apart and the pair plunged into the surf. The parachute floated over beach-side hotels and landed on Estero Boulevard.

Onlookers were horrified by what they saw.

Connie Meermann, 45, and Chris Liberis, 50, both of Germany, watched the mother and daughter land in front of their beachfront chairs.

Liberis was the first to reach them, and Meermann ran to call for help.

“The young girl moved her hands and her lips, but she couldn’t say anything,” Liberis said. “It was obvious that she was in a lot of pain.”

Lisabeth Straney was unconscious, he said.

Liberis dragged both out of the water.

Others were stunned that people would be parasailing in such bad weather.

“I turned to my wife and said there are people parasailing, I can’t believe it, this is no day to be parasailing,” said Klaus Westerville, who was watching the rainbow-colored parachute glide through the air from a hotel room.

Seconds later, a heavy wind swept up the parachute.

“It went off like a rocket,” said Westerville, 46, of South Carolina. “The parachute twisted three times, flying up, but the women started falling,” he said.

Next door at his Sandrac condominium, a neighbor called Clark Shedden to point out the parasailers.

“Look outside,” the neighbor said. “It looks like a parasailer is having trouble.”

“It was like she just fell from the sky,” Shedden said.

More than a dozen beachgoers ran to help.

Shedden, like other witnesses who watched from their window, dialed 911.

Fort Myers Beach paramedics rushed up minutes later.

“They were unconscious,” said Capt. David Evanson, one of the first paramedics to reach the water’s edge. “It was bad, we just got them on the ambulance as soon as we could.”

Evanson said it was obvious they suffered several fractures and internal injuries.

The Straneys were vacationing at Fort Myers Beach from Vine Grove, Ky., a small community about 25 miles southwest of Louisville. The family is well known there as the owners of Lincoln Trail Country Club.

Keena Straney, Lisabeth Straney’s husband, was headed to Fort Myers Beach Wednesday night, said a friend of the family answering the phone at their home.

Country club employees and members are devastated, said Bobby Bridges, who works in the club’s pro-shop.

“(Hope Straney) ran the restaurant and everyone loved her,” Bridges said. “She was as nice as can be.”

Hope and Taylor Straney often took mother-daughter trips, he said.

Morse said it will likely take several weeks of investigation before a final report is released.

The marine patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating.

The marine patrol does not oversee parasailing and there are no regulations about maintaining equipment, Morse said.

The Coast Guard does not know of any complaints against the company, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Robert Suddarth.

Nobody answered phone calls to the Fort Myers Beach parasailing company Wednesday evening. A recorded message said parasailing tours start at $40 per person, weather permitting.

The operator has the required license to operate a commercial boat with up to six people, Suddarth said.

The company is required to have a commercial license from the town and an occupational license from the county, said Marsha Segal-George, Fort Myers Beach town manager. The town also requires a certificate of insurance, which was on file, she said. The company has a $1 million insurance policy.