Parents of a St. Petersburg boy who died in a boating accident sue parents of a teenage driver

The family of a 15-year-old St. Petersburg boy who died in a boating accident earlier this year is suing the parents of the teenager who was driving the boat, claiming they let him drive unsupervised even though he had been drinking alcohol.

The lawsuit also says the boat was traveling at its top speed of about 70 km/h. The teen driver told bystanders who helped him out of the water that he was looking at his phone at the time of the accident and trying to change the music playing on the boat's speakers, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit stems from an incident on March 3, when emergency responders received a 911 call at 5:43 p.m. informing them that a boat had struck a dock near 4039 Bayshore Blvd. NE in Shore Acres and a passenger was missing in the water.

Christian Tharakan, then 15, was steering the boat when he hit a dock. The impact ejected him and his friend Collin Moorefield from the boat, authorities said.

Tharakan was the first to be recovered from the water. A neighbor who put on goggles and jumped into the water found Moorefield, also 15, at the bottom of the water near the end of a dock.

Moorefield was unresponsive and life-saving measures were performed before emergency personnel took him to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the next day that he had succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

According to a St. Petersburg police report, Tharakan suffered a “long but light” cut on the right side of his torso.

When the boat hit the dock, the thrust was still at full speed, police said.

The 18-foot-long Key West, equipped with a 115-horsepower outboard motor, passed close to dozens of docks that protruded from the shore along the Venetian Isles, the lawsuit says.

“Distracted and inhibited by alcohol, CT drove the Key West south, narrowly missed a dock, and then crashed with full force into the next dock,” the lawsuit states.

After hitting the dock, the boat came to a stop four houses away. Video surveillance cameras showed the boat hitting dock support posts and bouncing off a homeowner's boat, which was being hoisted onto a lift, police said.

According to the St. Petersburg fire department, a passerby turned off the engine and tied the boat down.

Moorefield's mother, Breck Moorefield, filed the lawsuit on August 12. She claims Tharakan's parents bought the boat for their son so he could go out on the water with friends “alone, without adequate experience, adult supervision and/or chaperone.”

The lawsuit also states that Tharakan's parents were having a “family gathering” on the day of the accident. It says the boys had access to alcohol and Tharakan's parents did not make sure their son had not brought alcohol onto the boat.

The lawsuit seeks an amount of more than $50,000 under the Florida Wrongful Death Act. The Florida state law provides compensation to survivors and relatives of victims for loss of companionship, emotional pain and suffering, and funeral expenses.

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Tharakan's parents then filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing they were not responsible for the accident. If they are found liable, the Tharakans have asked the judge to limit damages to the value of the boat, which is about $52,000, according to the lawsuit.

The Key West was “properly and efficiently manned” at the time of the crash, the federal government’s complaint states.

Attorneys listed for Anjan and Katherine Tharakan and the Moorefield family did not respond to calls from a Tampa Bay Times reporter this week.

A spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the agency's investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Moorefield attended the 8th grade at the Canterbury School of Florida, which is working with his family to create a memorial for him. Moorefield was an athlete who played many sports and also had a love of music, his obituary said.

“When he wasn't in the field, he went fishing with friends and loved to prepare his catch using recipes inspired by his big brother and his Atlanta cousins,” the obituary said.

Times writer Tony Marrero contributed to this report.