Army Ranger in critical condition after being struck by boat hit-and-run in Bahamas
Brent Slough, 42, was nearly sliced in half in a boat hit-and-run incident on the first day of a trip he was on with his wife, Whitney, and two daughters, Layla and Emma.
The Texas father was snorkeling just 20 feet from the shore when a boat driver struck him.
'I felt like a thump thump, and I was like, "did I just get hit by a boat?"' Brent recalled the June 30 nightmare to CBS News.
'My left leg wasn't functioning, and I felt like something was wrong with my lower body.'
Still in shock from the traumatic events, Brent said he turned around and saw two men speeding away on a boat.
One of them allegedly looked back at the severely harmed veteran, but they did not stop despite hearing his blood-curdling screams.
Brent's family witnessed the life-threatening ordeal from the beach, with his teenage daughter, Layla, having to rush into the sea and drag him to safety on a float.
Whitney described his gut-wrenching condition, saying his 'bottom was almost completely detached from his legs.'
He sustained multiple leg and pelvis fractures and a deep gash that was at high-risk of infection.
First responders were called to the gory scene, and Brent spent the rest of the day battling for his life at two different Bahamas hospitals before being airlifted to a Miami ICU.
'The doctor told me, "please get to a hospital in Miami, you need to get to the US for something this traumatic,"' Brent told CBS News.
Leaving their daughters in the Bahamas, Brent and Whitney traveled to Florida to ensure he received sufficient care - an expense they had to pay out of pocket.
He underwent a four hour surgery, but Whitney said doctors were not able to stitch some of his wounds because they were too deep, so they have been packing them instead, WFAA reported.
While Brent remains in the hospital, Whitney went back to the Bahamas to get her daughters and make sure the culprit - who is still at large - is held responsible.
'It's against the law to be within 200 feet of the shore,' Whitney explained to the outlet.
'Brent was about 20 feet out ... I just wish they would turn themselves in, but if they don't turn themselves in, then we have to find them.'
Despite the heartbreak the Slough family has been experiencing, Whitney said she is abundantly grateful her husband is still alive.
A GoFundMe, which has already raised more than $71,000, has been created on the Sloughs' behalf to cover Brent's mounting medical costs.
'His upcoming medical needs are great - but we know God will move to make this happen for the Slough family,' the page reads.
Brent graduated from West Point and served six years in the military, including a tour in Iraq, according to WFAA.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The US cities left behind as Trump ends key police accountability reforms
US communities that have contended with police violence are losing a major accountability measure to curb abuse. In late May, the Trump administration's Department of Justice announced a reversal in investigations and consent decrees – agreements between federal officials to hold law enforcement agencies accountable to reform – for several major police departments. The move came years after the Biden administration launched investigations into some law enforcement agencies, specifically as racial justice protests kicked off in the summer of 2020. Louisville metro police department (LMPD) is one department that saw its justice department investigation ended, despite its high-profile police controversies. In March 2020, LMPD officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a 27-year-old emergency room technician, as she slept in bed with her boyfriend. Police forcibly entered Taylor's home using a 'no-knock' warrant, firing 32 bullets into Taylor's home. Taylor's death sparked international outcry as the Black Lives Matter protests spread across the world. Since 2012, LMPD has also come under scrutiny for its Violent Incident Prevention, Enforcement and Response Unit. Officers, who often wear plainclothes, were found to routinely violate the civil rights of Black and brown residents; the unit was dissolved in 2015. Following Taylor's death, the justice department launched an investigation into LMPD, determining in 2023 that it had '[engaged] in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law', including excessive force, unlawful searches and detentions, discriminating against Black people in their enforcement. Louisville officials pledged to carry out reforms in response to the justice department's findings. A consent decree that was negotiated was still awaiting approval from a judge. But on 21 May, the Trump administration rolled back previous agreements and investigations to curb police abuse in Louisville and nearly two dozen other cities in the US. 'Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees,' said Harmeet K Dhillon, the head of the justice department's civil rights division, in an announcement. For community activists in affected cities, the justice department's rollback on police reform doesn't entirely come as a shock. Donald Trump established himself as a 'law and order' candidate during the 2024 presidential election and his administration previously signaled that they would end police reform progress in April. Still, the justice department's rollback of reforms is a significant breakdown in progress towards ending police abuses. 'It's very disappointing that the Trump administration is having his DOJ abdicate their statutory authority to investigate police departments and other municipalities under pattern and practice allegations and to make sure that everyone's civil rights are being enforced,' said Kungu Njuguna, a policy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. The justice department also announced that it would drop civil rights investigations looking into the conduct of several embattled law enforcement agencies including those in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; and Mount Vernon, New York. The agency has also ended a consent decree in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Consent decrees have long been used as a federal intervention into police departments: their implementation began with the passage of the 1994 crime bill, which included a small number of accountability measures for law enforcement. Those reforms were sparked by Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King in 1991 and protests that came after. The decrees historically have varied in effectiveness. While legally binding, different administrations have weakened them based on their own partisan affiliation. But for community members, consent decrees and broader investigations into misconduct can represent a positive change forward. In Trenton, the justice department's oversight offered a 'glimmer' for residents, said Austin Edward, president of the NAACP Trenton chapter. 'For the first time, having the federal government actually come in and say: 'Something is going wrong here in Trenton,' and finally listening to what the people have been saying for a long time? That's where that hope lies,' he said. 'A lot of people are very disappointed with the fact that we don't have any other recourse at the moment.' Despite the changes in federal oversight, some cities have already committed to passing reform. The Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg and the city's police chief Paul Humphrey promised to carry out the recommended changes, even without the consent decree. Trenton officials also promised to continue enacting reforms. (In 2024, a justice department investigation found that the Trenton police department engaged in a pattern of misconduct against city residents after police shot and paralyzed an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop.) 'We are moving ahead rapidly to continue implementing police reform that ensures constitutional policing while providing transparency and accountability to the public,' said Greenberg in a presser about the DOJ changes. 'I made a promise to our community, and we are keeping that promise.' Njuguna said that the ACLU is still examining what exact reforms Louisville officials are planning to implement and how much they differ from the justice department's former recommendations. But critics have said it is unclear if city officials can be trusted to hold themselves accountable and implement the entirety of the justice department's previous recommendations. Greenberg himself publicly contested the justice department's findings on the LMPD in January 2025, later clarifying that he would accept the report. 'We're kind of in a low to zero environment of trust with the community and LMPD,' said Njuguna. 'Without that independent oversight from the federal government, I think it's hard for some people to believe that LMPD is capable of policing its own.' In the meantime, activists and city officials have launched campaigns to bring attention to step backs in police reform. The People's Consent Decree, a list of demands for LMPD originally launched in 2024, has been gaining additional attention as the justice department ends their finding. The decree, which outlines demands for police accountability, was a collaborative effort between Louisville advocacy groups with the goal of having the city council adopt the measure. Involved groups, said Njuguna, are coming together to help educate the public on what a consent decree is and what rollbacks on progress are in effect. They hope to eventually see the plan implemented at a citywide level.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trump claims Supreme Court immunity ruling spares Obama from treason case
Donald Trump admitted his own Supreme Court victory granting 'presidential immunity' means its unlikely Barack Obama will be charged with treason over his handling of the 'Russia hoax.' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a declassified report allegedly implicating Obama and his administration over 2016 election interference that accused Trump of colluding with Moscow. Trump has accused Obama of treason, while Obama issued a statement denying any allegations. Even if Obama were to be in trouble, the Supreme Court ruled in a monumental 2024 decision that the President of the United States has immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, in a case argued by lawyers on Trump's behalf. Trump was asked if 'presidential immunity' would apply to Obama before his trip to Scotland on Friday and the president didn't deny it, going as far as to say he'd done his predecessor a favor. 'He has done criminal acts, no question about it. But he has immunity and it probably helps him a lot. He owes me big. Obama owes me big,' Trump said. The ex-president's team argued in late 2023 that Trump, and any president, must have absolute immunity from prosecution over actions taken while in office or it could impair important decision-making. The 6-3 decision split along the court's ideological lines ensures that Trump will not face another blockbuster trial with the case sent back to a lower court to determine what is considered his 'official' versus 'unofficial' acts. Trump celebrated the decision, writing on Truth Social: 'Big win for our constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!' A new report released by DNI Gabbard accused Obama of being behind a 'treasonous conspiracy' to fabricate what Trump repeatedly calls the Russia 'hoax' to bring him down. Gabbard made a series of criminal referrals to Pam Bondi's Justice Department and the agency is reportedly considering the request. Obama spoke out about the case via his spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush earlier this week, refuting many of the accusations circling around him. 'The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Rodenbush noted. 'These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio' Rodenbush concluded. Regardless, GOP leadership in both the House and Senate are pursuing investigations into members of the Biden and Obama administrations as they fend off clamoring calls for transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal enveloping the Trump administration. Democrats have portrayed the reintroduction of the "Russian hoax' saga as a way for the Trump Administration to distract from the demands around Epstein. The president fingered Obama for trying to 'head a coup' with acolytes like former FBI Director James Comey and former DNI Director James Clapper doing his dirty work. Trump also called the Steele report, which examined his campaign's ties to Russia, as 'all lies' and a 'fabrication.' The Mueller Report found that while Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign did not conspire or coordinate with the Russian government, despite at least 140 contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian nationals. Trump was asked earlier this week who the Justice Department should investigate following the report's release for a potential criminal referral. He didn't hesitate to name Obama and top members of his security team. 'It would be President Obama – who started it – and Biden was there with him, and [James] Comey was there, and [James] Clapper, the whole group was there,' Trump responded. At another point, Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should 'act' on the matter – while also indicating it was at her discretion. 'We have a very competent, very good, very loyal to our country person in Pam Bondi – very respected. And she – it's going to be her decision,' Trump said. Trump repeated calls to prosecute a wide circle of former Democratic officials come after he posted AI-generated video images of Obama being arrested and thrown in jail wearing an orange jumpsuit. Trump accused his rivals of organizing a failed 'coup' in 2016, when he defeated Hillary Clinton and captured the White House. Trump has hammered his rivals for what he calls 'no collusion' ever since the release of the Mueller report, even though Mueller himself never used that phrase.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
US man arrested for allegedly using dating apps to scam matches out of $2m
A California man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly using dating apps to con his matches out of more than $2m over the course of nearly three years. Allegedly posing as an investor, Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, of the Los Angeles-area city of Whittier swindled matches that he befriended and romanced on Tinder, Hinge and Bumble. Federal prosecutors have charged Lloyd with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from fraud. According to the indictment, which a federal grand jury returned earlier this month, Lloyd 'lied to his victims to give them the impression that he was financially successful and knowledgeable about investments'. Between April 2021 and February 2024, he falsely told victims that he had worked as a financial manager, was the vice-president of a company called Planet 13 Holdings, worked for an investment company called Landmark Associates and had closed on multiple properties. Lloyd convinced victims to transfer money and property to him via CashApp, Zelle, wire transfers or cash payments and told them 'he knew of investment opportunities that would benefit for them,' the central district of California's US attorney's office said in a press release announcing the arrest. To legitimize himself, Lloyd allegedly drew up false contracts and produced a false schedule of investment returns. He told victims they could withdraw their investments at any time. But instead, federal prosecutors say, he used their money 'for his own personal benefit', including writing a $40,000 check to a Lexus dealership. An attorney representing Lloyd did not immediately respond to requests for comment. If found guilty, Lloyd would face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on the monetary transaction count. According to prosecutors, the FBI is investigating Lloyd as well.
