Family of 15-year-old who died in boating accident sues parents of teenage boater

St. Petersburg, Florida. – The parents of 15-year-old Collin Moorefield, who died in a boating accident in St. Pete in March, are suing the parents of the 15-year-old who was driving the boat at the time of the accident.

Moorefield family attorney Ian Leavengood has known Collin since childhood and says he has a bright future ahead of him. Collin's parents believe this tragedy would never have happened if certain people had taken the right actions.

“Colin was a great kid. He was a little shy and kind, but very smart and incredibly talented,” Leavengood said.

His life ended on March 3 when the boat he was riding in crashed into a dock in St. Pete near Bayshore Blvd in Shore Acres. Both he and the 15-year-old driver were thrown into the water. The driver survived. Collin later died in the hospital.

Last week, his mother, Breck Moorefield, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Anjan and Katherine Tharakan, the parents of the 15-year-old driver.

“We do not know and have not stated that anyone was drunk or that they exceeded any limits. We just believe that alcohol may have been involved in the accident and that there may have been driver distraction on the vessel,” Leavengood said.

According to the lawsuit, the Tharakans were hosting a family gathering on the day of the accident and failed to ensure their son did not bring alcohol from the gathering or other locations onto their Key West Center Console boat. The lawsuit says the Tharakans purchased the boat so their son could operate it by himself and allowed him to operate it without adequate experience, without adult supervision and without checking for alcohol.

The Moorefields also claim that the teenage driver admitted to those who helped him out of the water after the accident that he had looked at his phone before impact to change the music playing on the Key West.

On Monday, the Tharakans filed their own lawsuit in federal court seeking to limit the amount of damages they may have to pay to the value of the boat, or about $50,000. That means the Moorefields must prove the parents were directly negligent to be unable to limit the damages.

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No charges were filed against the juvenile driver in connection with the accident.

“This case is still under investigation by the FWC. Our office is in contact with them – there is still some additional evidence to be collected, which is common in a case like this. Once that additional evidence is collected, prosecutors will review all of the evidence presented to make a decision on charging,” the prosecutor's office said in a statement emailed to FOX 13 late Tuesday.

FOX 13 has reached out to Tharakan's family attorney for comment and is still awaiting a response.

In Florida, a 15-year-old can drive a boat as long as he has a boating license. It is unclear whether the teenager had one.

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