Trial begins for Keys captain in parasailing crash that killed mom, hurt kids

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Jul 30, 2026

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MIAMI — A jury is expected to deliberate this week in the federal trial of a Florida Keys parasailing boat captain who cut the tow-line to three of his clients dangling in the air from a harness during a thunderstorm, killing an Illinois mother and injuring two children after the wind slammed them into a bridge.

A grand jury in April charged Daniel Couch, 53, with voluntary manslaughter and seaman’s manslaughter. The first charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years and the latter, 10 years. Couch pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was charged federally because the parasailing boat he was operating on May 30, 2022, is subject to U.S. Coast Guard regulations for commercial use. He also has a pending state case on a charge of felony negligent manslaughter.

Couch was captaining a 31-foot boat owned by Lighthouse Parasail out of the Middle Keys city of Marathon, towing Supraja Alaparthi, 33, her then 10-year-old son and her nephew, who was nine years old at the time. While they were tethered to a harness several feet in the air around 5 p.m. that day, a storm kicked up winds that snagged the parasail, making it difficult for Couch and his mate to lower the family down to the boat, investigators say.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state agency that investigated the incident, the parasail became “pegged” by the wind and began dragging the boat.

Couch’s response landed him in trouble with the law. Instead of trying to maneuver the boat to reduce the drag, he pulled out a knife and cut the tow-line, investigators say.

But, instead of causing the harness to drop into the ocean, allowing him to pick his clients up, the wind dragged the parasail with the family attached for about three miles across the water before they crashed into a concrete piling on the Old Seven Mile Bridge.

Alaparthi and the children were trapped in the parasail and stuck to the bridge. FWC investigators say Couch did not take his boat to the bridge to try to free them. Instead, a commercial flats fishing guide who watched the situation unfold, sped to the bridge and rescued the family.

As the guide raced to a restaurant on Knights Key, his passengers performed CPR on Alaparthi and her nephew, according to the FWC. Paramedics waiting on shore pronounced Alaparthi dead. Her son had minor injuries, but her nephew was seriously injured.

A law enforcement source said the nephew has since physically recovered.

Investigators also said Couch was aware that National Weather Service forecasters broadcasted an alert that heavy winds, rains and thunderstorms were expected that afternoon.

Chief Assistant Monroe State Attorney Joseph Mansfield said the state charges against Couch are still pending, but that could change, depending on the outcome of the federal case.

“We are seeing what happens and will proceed accordingly,” Mansfield told the Miami Herald Thursday.