Cassandra Rivera remembers every detail of the Memorial Day boat ride that led her and her two young sons to be hospitalized with severe burns after the boat burst into flames.
“I was giving my little one, Kash, water, and he looked at me and said ‘Mommy, I think something bad is going to happen,’” she said. “All I could hear on the other side [of the boat] was my husband screaming ‘I smell fuel, I smell fuel. Please stop!”
A few moments later, the 39-foot Sea Ray exploded in the Intracoastal Waterway off Fort Lauderdale, sending 11 of the 15 passengers on board to the hospital. The boat’s operator, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died in the hospital days later.
On Wednesday, two weeks after the tragedy, Rivera spoke about the boat explosion at a news conference at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she and her children have been treated.
For the full story, please visit miamiherald.com