logo
Army Ranger in critical condition after being struck by boat hit-and-run in Bahamas

Army Ranger in critical condition after being struck by boat hit-and-run in Bahamas

Daily Mail​06-07-2025
A former Army Ranger is enduring a grueling recovery after a family vacation to the Bahamas went horribly wrong.
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.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump says he was NEVER briefed by Pam Bondi on his name being in Epstein files
Trump says he was NEVER briefed by Pam Bondi on his name being in Epstein files

Daily Mail​

time7 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Trump says he was NEVER briefed by Pam Bondi on his name being in Epstein files

President Donald Trump on Friday denied ever being briefed by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name was in the Jeffrey Epstein files. 'No, I was never briefed. No,' he told reporters after he landed in Scotland to visit his golf courses. But Bondi briefed Trump during a May 2025 meeting that his name was found in the Epstein documents 'multiple times,' according to reports. Other high-profile individuals are also named. Just because the president is named in the files does not implicate him in any wrongdoing or connect him to Epstein's child sex trafficking crimes. Administration officials told the Wall Street Journal that Bondi's May meeting with Trump was a routine briefing covering a number of topics - and the Epstein files weren't the focus. White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the Journal's report as 'fake news' in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,' he said when the report came out earlier this week.

Chuck E. Cheese employee arrested in iconic mouse mask for using stolen credit card, police say
Chuck E. Cheese employee arrested in iconic mouse mask for using stolen credit card, police say

The Independent

time9 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Chuck E. Cheese employee arrested in iconic mouse mask for using stolen credit card, police say

Wearing the furry mask of the iconic Chuck E. Cheese mascot mouse, an employee of the popular children's birthday destination was arrested for using a stolen credit card at one of the chain's Florida restaurants, police said. 'Chuck E, come with me Chuck E,' a police officer in Tallahassee told the suspect, 'stop resisting, you are being detained.' The arrest occurred Wednesday, according to the probable cause report from police, while photos from bystanders showed an officer removing the man's rodent mask — with its gray fur, exaggerated ears and perpetual smile — and placing it atop a Tallahassee Police Department vehicle. The investigation began when a woman called police to report that someone was using her child support Visa debit card, which she hadn't seen since a visit Chuck E. Cheese in late June, police records stated. Charges to the card were made at a smoke shop, grocery store and a Whataburger. The woman tracked down the suspect by going to the grocery store and viewing surveillance footage from the time her card was used, police records state. She recognized the man from the Chuck E. Cheese. When police officers arrived at the restaurant, one of them entered first to verify that the suspect was there. He was — and he wasn't wearing the mask. The suspect 'looked very nervous, he gazed at me with wide eyes and squared shoulders in a tensed demeaner,' a police officer later wrote in the probable cause report. The officer and another officer soon returned to the Chuck E. Cheese, where the suspect had since donned the rodent mask, police records stated. The officers asked another employee if the suspect was in the mouse suit. 'She shook her head up and down indicating yes,' the officer wrote.

Steroids, suicide and addiction: Why so many wrestlers die young
Steroids, suicide and addiction: Why so many wrestlers die young

Telegraph

time9 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Steroids, suicide and addiction: Why so many wrestlers die young

The death of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan at 71 has prompted an outpouring of love and respect from fans worldwide. It won't, however, have come as a shock to many. Over a career spanning decades, which included several comebacks from retirement and some very public scandals, Hogan had survived a staggering amount of physical and mental torment. He had endured surgery for chronic pain and injuries almost all over his body, including multiple back operations such as spinal fusion surgery, knee and hip replacements, and repairs to his shoulders, biceps and abdominal muscles. In 2023, he claimed he had undergone 25 surgeries in the past decade alone. He spoke of having an eye reconstructed, his nose repeatedly broken, and getting his teeth knocked out six times. The Georgia-born star even suggested he still had teeth marks in a finger from an opponent's bite early in a career that began in 1977. He suffered from nerve damage, and his knees, he said, were reduced to bone on bone. At times, he had to rely on a walking stick to get around. But this catalogue of excruciating pain was only part of the battle Hogan faced. At one point, he developed a long-term dependence on painkillers, including opioids, and admitted that he had begun washing down dozens of pills with alcohol. In another moment of crisis, he told Oprah Winfrey that he had become so depressed and desperate he had contemplated suicide. There's more. In 1994, testifying under his real name, Terry Gene Bollea, as a witness in a case against his former employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC (WWE) co-founder Vince McMahon, he told the court that he had regularly used anabolic steroids in the 1980s, not just to build his physique but 'to heal injuries, to keep on going,' adding that it was 'fairly common' among wrestlers at the time.(McMahon was acquitted of supplying them.) The dangerous side effects of excessive steroid use are well known today: high blood pressure, blood clots and heart problems, including an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Although Hogan's death at the relatively young age of 71 from cardiac arrest has not been directly linked to steroid abuse, the punishment he inflicted on his body over many years places his death within a glaring pattern seen in wrestling, even at the very top of the sport. Early death is by no means unusual in the world of wrestling. A 2014 US university study found that over a 26-year period, male wrestlers were 15 times more likely to die from cardiovascular-related causes than men in the general population, and 122 times more likely to die from drug overdoses. In 38 per cent of those cases, the deaths were linked to heart problems. Those statistics sit uncomfortably alongside what wrestling fans have seen happen to their heroes. James Hellwig, known to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) fans as 'The Ultimate Warrior' before the organisation became WWE after losing the acronym to the World Wide Fund for Nature, died of heart failure at 54 in 2014. He had once defeated Hogan to become WWF champion at WrestleMania VI. Rowdy Roddy Piper, the kilt-wearing 'Hot Rod,' died a year later at 61 from cardiac arrest. Ten years earlier, former WWE champion Eddie Guerrero died at just 38 from heart failure. Lancashire-born Davey Boy Smith, known as the ' British Bulldog ', died in 2002 of a heart attack. Rick Rude, or 'Ravishing' Rick Rude as fans knew him, died in 1999 at the age of 40 from heart failure after a suspected accidental overdose. Hogan often lamented the loss of his former ring partner, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, with whom he shared a spectacular partnership in the ring as the 'Mega Powers' and a rather more complicated relationship outside it. Hogan was said to have had a relationship with Savage's ex-wife, which caused a temporary rift between them. Savage died in 2011 at the age of 58. His autopsy revealed an enlarged heart and severe fatty build-up in his coronary arteries that resulted in more than 90 per cent blockage. 'When you expose yourself over a long period of time to anabolic steroids,' says Dr Sam Botchey, a consultant in sport, exercise and musculoskeletal medicine, 'you get an increase in the size of your heart, particularly the left ventricle, which actually makes the heart less functional. It impairs your heart's ability to pump blood around the body properly and also increases the risk of arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, which can lead to premature cardiac arrest and coronary disease.' Deaths related to medication have also been a major problem. In 2003, WWF/WWE star 'Crash Holly' died from what was ruled a suicide, after taking an overdose of a prescription drug used for musculoskeletal pain along with alcohol, following the receipt of divorce papers. He was just 32. Former WWE wrestler Eddie Fatu, better known as 'Umaga', died of heart failure in 2009 at the age of 36 after an overdose of painkillers and anti-anxiety medication. A cocaine overdose led to the death of Curt Hennig, known as 'Mr Perfect', at 44. Mike Awesome died by suicide in 2007, at the age of 42. Clearly, mental health issues are a significant factor in the sport. Added to all of this is the increased risk of serious injury in any high-impact sport, with concussion being a particular concern in wrestling. Former WWF/WWE wrestler Marty Jannetty was involved in a class-action suit against his former employers in 2016. His testimony reportedly included the statement: 'We do get slammed on the floor and our heads bounced on the floor. There have been so many times when I get up and didn't remember how I finished the match.' The case was later dismissed. The death of Joanie Laurer, known as WWF's 'Chyna', from a drug overdose in 2016 was tentatively linked to CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a concussion-related injury. One star who managed to leave the sport before it caused him permanent injury was Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. At the height of his wrestling fame, The Rock was able to leverage his ring persona and imposing physique into a film career, starting with The Mummy Returns in 2001. His starring role in the Fast & Furious franchise has been central to making it one of the most successful of its era. His path has since been followed by others, including John Cena and Dave Bautista, who has appeared in many blockbusters and gave a notably subtle performance in the low-key Pamela Anderson indie The Last Showgirl last year. Botchey says that wrestlers face a perfect storm that starts with the dangers of using anabolic steroids in a business that demands a certain type of physique, compounded by the risks of CTE and muscle injuries. 'Then you add in the painkillers, and what we're seeing here is a pattern of injury where they still have to perform. These are some of the best athletes you'll ever see,' he notes, 'who are also actors and performers putting on a show.' 'So despite having torn bicep muscles and severe cartilage injuries, they're still having to go out there and do that same performance, which is why you get this high use of painkillers.' The opioid crisis, he adds, hit wrestlers just as hard as it affected everyone else. 'You see this pattern of young, fit men who stay in wrestling for long periods of time and become exposed to that perfect storm of multiple head injuries, steroid use, painkillers and opioid overuse.' He believes there are steps that could help, such as enforcing head injury protocols similar to those used in rugby and football, and tackling the overuse of painkillers as early as possible. 'Regular monitoring for anabolic steroid use and hormonal imbalance would also be key,' he suggests. But he also recognises the powerful pull this multimillion dollar industry has on individuals. Botchey's specialty is steroid use, and he sounds a note of warning about how widespread it is within gym culture here in the UK. Perhaps, in what is happening to wrestlers, there is a broader lesson to be learnt about problems closer to home.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store