Florida Casino Boat Fire Casualty Identified As Lutz Mom

PORT RICHEY, FL - A 42-year-old casino shuttle boat passenger died Sunday night at Bayonet Point Regional Medical Center while being treated for injuries she suffered when the boat became engulfed in flames near Port Richey. Fifty passengers and the crew were forced to jump overboard as the vessel was destroyed by the fire.

The woman was identified by the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office as Carrie Dempsey, a 42-year-old mother of two from Lutz, according to multiple reports. She died about 10:42 p.m. A spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said he did not have information on her injuries or the cause of death.

Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover said Monday that the woman died shortly after she arrived at the hospital's emergency room at 10 p.m. He said she had apparently gone home after the fire but became ill. He said eight other passengers were treated at the hospital and released.

All the passengers aboard the boat were able to make it to shore where paramedics treated them. About a dozen people were treated for exposure, anxiety and other minor injuries, said Chief Gerard DeCanio of the Port Richey Police Department. None of the injuries were believed to be life threatening at the time.

The fire began just after leaving Port Richey about 4 p.m. and the boat was about 100 yards from land when it became engulfed in flames, officials said. Most of the 50 passengers waded to shore. Others were rescued by other boats and rescue workers who jumped from land into the water.

Pasco County Fire Rescue official Shawn Whited credited the ship's captain for preventing a disaster. Shortly after the vessel left the dock, the captain spotted smoke spewing from the engine room and decided to turn around, the chief told the New York Times. With the fire growing rapidly, the captain steered the boat toward shore, allowing passengers to jump off into shallow water.

“Another quarter-mile out, this would have been a tragedy,” he said.

The shuttle boat regularly carries people back and forth from the Tropical Breeze Casino Cruise, which is offshore in international waters where gambling is legal, according to authorities. They said the shuttle vessel was headed out to the casino ship at the time of the fire. The shuttle boat makes several trips daily from Port Richey. The boat is operated by the Tropical Breeze Casino Cruise. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

Tropical Breeze Casino Cruise spokeswoman Beth Fifer said Monday that the company was deeply saddened by the death of the passenger. She said there had never been any issues with the boat.

As passengers waded to shore, nearby residents brought towels, blankets and jackets from their homes to help them recover from the chilly waters.

Port Richey police officer Jason Zimmerman said a couple of seniors were face down in the water when police arrived on scene.

The casino shuttle boat burned to the hull, according to Pasco County Fire Rescue. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Pasco Sheriff's Office patrol, marine and air units responded to assist. Florida Fish and Wildlife officers responded as well as the Coast Guard.

A fire broke out on a shuttle boat taking passengers to a casino boat in Florida. One person died and 15 people were injured: https://t.co/OURfPmcZNG pic.twitter.com/NrJWqwvjOQ
— CNN (@CNN) January 15, 2018

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Image via Pasco Sheriff's Office