Widower Of Area Woman Killed Parasailing Speaks, Second Lawsuit Filed

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL — The widower of an Elk Grove Village woman who was killed in a parasailing accident in the Florida Keys last year spoke for the first time on Thursday after a second lawsuit was filed stemming from her death.

Supraja Alaparthi, 33, her 10-year-old son, and 7-year-old nephew were in a harness, in the air when say the parasail began "pegging,", according to court documents, referencing an action when the parasail turned into the high winds and dragged the boat.

The new lawsuit filed names the boat captain, his first mate and a resort marina in the Florida Keys. The lawsuit claims that the boat captain took the group out parasailing despite poor weather conditions, and cut the towline to the parasail when conditions worsened.

The parasail then slammed into a bridge, killing Alaparthi and injuring the two children.

On Thursday, Alaparthi’s widower, Srinivasrao Alaparthi, said in a news conference, speaking about the incident for the first time.

“When I look back on the day of the incident, I can’t help but think that if the people with the parasailing company, and the captain and the marina had done their jobs, my wife would still be with us today,” Srinivasrao Alaparthi said on Thursday in a news conference. “We trusted these companies, but they let us down in the worst possible way.”

He said that the goal of the new lawsuit is to ensure that no other family goes through what his family is dealing with. He said since his wife’s death, his family has taken things one day at a time and referred to his late wife as “an incredible person, full of life and love.”

Srinivasrao Alaparthi said that there needs to be strict regulations and that those who disregard those regulations “should face serious consequences for their actions.”

He said that while his son and nephew are doing better physically, they are still dealing with the emotional trauma from the incident. He said the family is doing their best to focus on the happy memories they remember with Supraja Alaparthi to keep her memory alive.

“It’s very hard,” he said. “But we are doing our best.”

Alaparthi's lawyers said his wife died of blunt force trauma and drowning. The lawyers said that the couple’s son and nephew were injured and may have died had it not been for what the widower said were the actions of a charter fisherman, John Callion, who acted heroically, both the attorney and Alaparthi said on Thursday.

The boat’s captain, Daniel Gavin Couch, was charged with one count of manslaughter and five counts of violating commercial parasailing statutes.

"The defendants in this case never checked the weather, and they never stopped the boat from leaving the dock that day, despite laws clearly prohibiting parasailing activities when weather like this in the area," Pedro Echarte of the Haggard Law Firm said on Thursday. "He did the one thing that you never do in this case. He cut the tow line, and, at that point in time, he lost all control of that parasail."

The lawsuit previously filed by the family only was filed against the parasailing company and sought more than $100,000 in damages before the additional defendants were named in the new lawsuit.