The captain of a Florida dive boat has been found guilty of manslaughter over the 2020 death of a 37-year-old female scuba diver.
Mollie Ghiz-Flynn was diving with her husband Sean on 29 March 2020 when she was caught in one of the boat’s propellers after it spun up without warning. Ghiz-Flynn was severely injured but also held underwater by the propeller, causing her to drown.
Dustin McCabe, 49 of Ocala, Florida, was convicted of Seaman’s Manslaughter, lying to the US Coast Guard, and Covid-19 relief fraud.
McCabe had bought the boat, named Southern Comfort, earlier that same month, however, he had falsely declared on Coast Guard registration paperwork that it would be used for recreational purposes when in reality he planned to run scuba diving charters.
On 28 March one diver had a narrow escape when the port side propeller engaged while the engine was in neutral during a pickup, causing the diver to be sucked towards the propeller, but otherwise unharmed.
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According to the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida, the boat experienced ‘significant mechanical malfunctions’ that day, including the propellers activating unexpectedly and a loss of steering. The boat had also run aground at some point during the trip.
Despite these repeated failures, McCabe set sail from Riviera Beach the next day with Ghiz-Flynn and her husband on board. The propeller once again engaged while the engine was in neutral during the pickup. Ghiz-Flynn’s severely damaged leg was caught up in the prop shaft, which held her underwater and led to her drowning.
A medical examiner testified that the deep chop wounds and broken bones may have been survivable, had Ghiz-Flynn not been trapped under the boat.
McCabe was prohibited from operating Southern Comfort after the incident, but later applied for two loans from the federal government’s Covid-19 Paycheck Protection Programme – despite not having an operational business at the time. He reportedly submitted fraudulent payroll information and fake tax documents to support his application.
McCabe will be sentenced in June and faces up to 10 years imprisonment for seaman’s manslaughter, five for making false statements to the Coast Guard, and up to 20 years behind bars for wire fraud.
