Army Ranger in ICU after being hit by boat propeller while snorkeling in the Bahamas
Brent Slough was vacationing with his family on June 30 when the hit-and-run incident occurred in the Exuma district of the islands. The driver of the boat did not stop and has not been charged.
Slough, a West Point graduate and former Ranger who served six years in the military as well as one tour in Iraq, was in the water before dinner when a boat skimming the shallows struck him.
According to his wife, Whitney Slough, the propeller hit Slough underneath the buttocks and the legs, causing him to bleed profusely.
Recalling the incident to WFAA, she said: 'We hear Brent screaming, 'Help me, help me, help me.' We didn't realize that he was struck by the boat.'
Slough's family, with the help of other Good Samaritans on the beach, pulled him from the water and wrapped his legs in towels in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He was taken to a nearby hospital.
He was later airlifted back to the U.S., and is currently in the ICU in Miami, having undergone surgery almost immediately – which lasted four hours.
His wife told WFAA that doctors were unable to stitch the wounds because they're so deep and have packed them instead. A GoFundMe to help with his medical bills has so far raised over $50,000.
Bahamian authorities are now searching for the boat and those responsible.
'They know they hit him, they saw him snorkeling,' Whitney Slough said. 'And they drove off. I just can't let that be….We're lucky that he's alive and there's no way that they should be able to get away with this.'
She added: '[The Bahamas] is such a beautiful place. But I feel like I'm in a nightmare.'
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The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘We want closure': family searches for answers over Kenyan police officer missing in Haiti
The relatives of a Kenyan police officer who went missing while working in Haiti have spoken of their anguish and anger at Kenyan authorities over a lack of definitive information about what has happened to him. Benedict Kuria and some colleagues were ambushed in March by suspected gang members. Haitian media reported that he had died, but Kenya's police service says a search is continuing. 'We've tried many times to get information from the government, but they've refused,' said Kuria's wife, Miriam Watima. 'We don't know what to do any more.' Hundreds of Kenyan officers have been posted to Haiti as part of a US and UN-backed mission to help police in the Caribbean country get to grips with rampant gang violence. More than a million people have been forced from their homes in a relentless cycle of indiscriminate killings, kidnappings, gang rapes and arson. Kuria's case has reignited public concern over Kenya's involvement in the multinational security support mission (MSS), which started last year and was the subject of intense domestic public and legal scrutiny from the outset. In a search for answers, Kuria's family filed a court petition in June that listed the attorney-general, the inspector general of police and various ministers as respondents. A Nairobi court has scheduled a preliminary court appearance for September but the family, who want the matter treated with urgency, have called for the session to be brought forward. 'We entrusted our son with the government,' said Kuria's mother, Jacinta Kabiru. 'They should give us the information.' Kuria, a 33-year-old administration police officer, joined the MSS last July. On 26 March the MSS said he was 'unaccounted for' after an ambush the day before on a team who had gone to assist the recovery of a Haitian police vehicle stuck in a ditch that it suspected had been dug by gangs. Later on 26 March, Kenyan police said a search and rescue mission was continuing, while local leaders and police chiefs went to Watima's house in the town of Kikuyu, north-west of Nairobi in Kiambu county, to tell her that her husband was missing. But the following day, Haitian media outlets reported that Kuria had been killed, quoting Haiti's presidential transitional council as saying that he 'fell … while carrying out his mission' and 'gave his life for a better future for our country'. In the months since, his family's desperate scramble for clarity has included visits to police – who have told them a search and rescue mission is continuing – and politicians' offices. Through their lawyer, Mbuthi Gathenji, they have petitioned parliament and written letters to Kenya's attorney-general and María Isabel Salvador, the special representative of the UN secretary-general in Haiti. Their court petition accuses government officials of 'refusing and/or neglecting' to provide the family with information on Kuria's whereabouts 'to ease their agony', and asks judges to assist in 'compelling the respondents to disclose information'. 'You can imagine the pain that the parents and relatives are going through,' said Gathenji. 'We are asking the government to come out with finality.' The Guardian has approached Kenya's interior cabinet secretary as well as the MSS and the Kenyan police for comment. Kenya's leading role in the mission stemmed from a desire by the US and the UN to restructure international intervention in Haiti with a multinational mission headed by an African country, after a series of floundering UN missions during which UN troops caused a cholera outbreak and peacekeepers were accused of sexual assault. Kenya, which has participated in many peacekeeping missions internationally, volunteered to lead the Haiti intervention. For its president, William Ruto, the deployment was a chance to position his country as a reliable international partner and burnish the reputation of its police force, which regularly uses violence against civilians. The arrival of the Kenyan officers in June 2024 brought some hope to Haiti, but the mission, beset by funding, equipment and personnel issues, has failed to repel the criminal advance. In April, Salvador said Haiti was approaching a 'point of no return'. And on Wednesday, Ghada Waly, the executive director of the UN office on drugs and crime, told the UN security council that gangs now controlled an estimated 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Kuria's mother had tried to dissuade him from joining the mission after learning about Haiti's violent reputation, but he was determined to go, motivated in part by the extra pay the job came with, which he planned to use to improve his relatives' lives. 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Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I was run over by two Tube trains and had two limbs amputated after slipping off wet platform - I can never hug my children with both arms again and TFL say it's MY fault
A mother-of-two who lost an arm and a leg when she was crushed by two Tube trains after slipping on a wet platform has accused Transport for London (TfL) of 'blaming' her after they claimed she 'contributed' to her life-changing injuries. Sarah de Lagarde, 47, was left fearing she was going to die after she fell through the gap at High Barnet station in north London in September 2022. The City worker, who was left stranded on the tracks as no one could hear her screams, was run over by two London Underground Tube trains and needed her right arm and right leg amputated. Recalling the terrifying moment she was left to fight for her life, Ms de Lagarde, from Camden, north London, told MailOnline: 'I knew in that moment, there was a high chance I was going to die on those Northern Line tracks. 'I started to think about by children, and I knew I owed it to them to come home. I thought to myself, there is no way I am dying here. I need to be with my daughters.' The PR executive, who now uses two prosthetic limbs including a bionic arm, has launched a legal battle against London Underground Ltd (LUL), part of Transport for London (TfL), and is seeking £25million in compensation. But in defence documents submitted to the High Court, TfL denies liability, arguing her injuries were the result of her own negligence. They claim she 'placed herself in a position of danger' because she was 'negligent' in how she got off the train. MailOnline understands Ms de Lagarde was referred to as an 'intoxicated female' on TfL's incident reporting form, however this was retracted with an apology as it was not true and there was no evidence to back it up. Outraged Ms de Lagarde pointed out that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has specifically told TfL not to 'victim-blame', adding: 'But yes - TfL is blaming me for being run over and crushed by not one, but two London Underground trains. 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'Last week at the High Court I listened, as in great detail TfL began to formalise its attempts to blame me for being hit by two of its trains. 'Following the hearing, I stood outside and told those who had come to see me how grateful I was for their continued support. It was miraculous that I survived, but what happened that evening on the Northern Line has cost me dearly.' Ms de Lagarde said that despite TFL's attempts to 'blame' her, she is 'not disheartened'. 'Quite the opposite, I am optimistic,' she defiantly said. Ms de Lagarde was on the tracks for 15 minutes before the alarm was raised. Speaking previously, she said: 'Twenty-two tonnes of steel crushed my limbs, and, if that wasn't bad enough, I remained on the tracks undetected until the second train came into the station, crushing me for a second time.' TfL defence lists six grounds of Ms de Lagarde's alleged contributory negligence Failed to manage her exit from the train so that she was on stable footing when she was on the platform. Failed to walk safely along the platform so that she stepped sideways and backwards on the platform after alighting the train and fell backwards into the gap. Failed reasonably to maintain her balance. Failed to have sufficient regard for her own safety and placed herself in a position of danger. Failed to heed warnings of the existence of the gap, including announcements given on the network of the existence of a gap between trains and platforms. Failed to guard against the obvious risk of danger of falling off the platform if positioned close to its edge. In defence documents submitted to the High Court by TfL 's legal team and seen by MailOnline, TfL suggest 'the incident was caused or contributed to by the claimant's negligence'. According to the TfL defence: 'The claimant took a few steps forward on to the platform and then took a few steps backwards, before the rear of her body struck the rear side of the door of the train she had exited from. 'The claimant continued to move backwards and, approximately seven seconds after exiting the train, she fell into the gap between carriages five and six of the train.' Around five minutes later, the train driver walked back through the train to get to the driver's cab to start his return journey southbound. He noticed Ms de Lagarde's brown leather bag wedged between the train and the platform, which he later handed to lost property. But he didn't investigate further. TfL's defence said the driver 'did not see or hear the claimant at that point and did not look into the gap, having no reason to do so'. She called out for help, but no one came and the train left the platform, bringing her right arm with it. She managed to reach her phone but her face was so badly injured the face ID didn't work and it was too wet from the rain for the touchscreen to function, so she again tried to shout for help. But again, no one came. And then a second train arrived, running over her right leg. On Wednesday June 25, Ms de Lagarde attended the first High Court hearing in her case against London Underground Limited, which is part of Transport for London before Judge Master Roger Eastman. The judge indicated that an eight-day trial would be listed at the High Court for early 2027. TfL say the driver of the second train did not see Ms de Lagarde lying on the track, despite the train's headlights being on. However, TfL said their purpose was 'not to illuminate the tracks or the platform' but to make the train visible to workers on the track. Ms de Lagarde was on the tracks for 15 minutes before the alarm was raised and London Fire Brigade and London's Air Ambulance medics were alerted. Three air ambulance medics helped save her life, with Dr Benjamin Marriage and paramedics Chris Doyle and Kevin Cuddon receiving a national bravery award. Mr Cuddon said: 'Sarah was trapped in a very awkward position so I crawled under the train to help the London Fire Brigade get her out. 'Together we had to carry her about 30m under the train and put her on a device to lift her up to the platform. 'She was really quiet, pale and had lost some blood.' Ms de Lagarde had stepped on to an 'accessibility hump', a slope of a ramp that is designed to make it easier for wheelchair users to board trains. An investigation by TfL found that the ramp was 'in principle compliant' with TfL's standards and that 'passengers stepping on to the base of the platform ramp is considered a sub-optimal arrangement' but was nevertheless Ms de Lagarde says 'remained conscious and continued to cry out for help'. Her claim states: 'She was left lying partially across the first rail of the track, closest to the station platform. 'The claimant attempted to manoeuvre her right foot and leg across the first rail in order to retrieve her mobile telephone. She cried out for help, but nobody came to her assistance.' She was unable to move into a recess space in the platform wall as it was blocked by a steel frame and 'excess ballast', it is claimed. It is disputed by TfL that there are different safety procedures for trains departing from a terminus station, as opposed to a station elsewhere on the line. 'The same checks are required on dispatching a train from a terminus station and a non-terminus station,' TfL said. Ms de Lagarde was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel where she underwent surgery before being transferred to the Amputee Rehabilitation Unit in Lambeth on October 20. She was discharged home on December 1, 2022. Ms de Lagarde receives ongoing care at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. Representing Ms de Lagarde, Leigh Day partner Thomas Jervis said: 'Like millions of other Londoners, Sarah de Lagarde was just trying to get home from work when she was hit by two tube trains at High Barnet station. 'Transport for London is refusing to accept liability and positively blames Sarah for what happened. 'This case is incredibly important and may have a profound impact on how London's transport network is operated in the future.' A TfL spokesperson said: 'We are responding to a legal claim brought by Sarah de Lagarde. 'It is not appropriate to discuss details of our defence while this case is ongoing. 'Our thoughts continue to be with Sarah and her family following this terrible incident, and we will continue to make every possible effort to learn from any incident on the Tube network. 'Safety is our top priority and we will always place it at the forefront of our thinking.'
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mother-of-two dies after being knocked down and run over by 'parked car that unexpectedly moved'
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