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Stingray kills woman on boat

Stingray kills woman on boatA woman from Michigan was killed Thursday in the Florida Keys by a stingray that flew out of the water and struck her in the face. Judy Kay Zagorski was simply sitting in a boat, driving at 25 mph, when she spotted the stingray that jumped out of the water into her boat. According to a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the woman’s father was driving the boat on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key.

“He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously,” the spokesman said.

Spotted eagle rays can weigh up to 500 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 10 feet. Even though they are known to jump out of the water, they won’t attack or use their venomous tail as a defense mechanism.

“Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites,” said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. “They do not attack people.”

Stingray kills woman on boat

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photo credit: © Reuters

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Discussion

16 comments for “Stingray kills woman on boat”

  1. I’ve swam with sting rays in Cozumel, Mexico.The only thing that happened to me is when I ran out of squid.One tried to eat my tassel on my swimming trunks.Pulling them down as everyone was laughing at me.(bastards)Definitely a freak accident just like the Steve Irwin accident.Guess I’m fortunate

    Posted by ppp | March 21, 2008, 5:08 am
  2. [...] was simply sitting in a boat, driving at 25 mph, when she spotted the stingray that … credit : [...]

    Posted by judy kay zagorski Trendy Here! | March 21, 2008, 5:53 am
  3. Am I the only one seeing a trend here? Stingrays are invading! We must wipe them out from the face (Sub-face?) of the earth! To Arms!

    Posted by Peter | March 21, 2008, 11:20 am
  4. Anyone else detect a gap in logic here?

    1. Woman is on boat
    2. Stingray jumps into boat
    3. ?
    4. Woman dies (profit!)

    Posted by Nick | March 21, 2008, 11:28 am
  5. There is no gap in logic… If you are traveling 25 mph and a 500lbs fish jumps out of the water and hits you in the face, that will pretty much kill you. It would be like being hit in the face with a motorcycle that was traveling 25 mph.

    Posted by Ryan | March 21, 2008, 11:33 am
  6. Not a fan of the hat.

    Posted by audramae | March 21, 2008, 11:43 am
  7. I read this on aol news. Its sad and awful, but unfortunately sometimes those kinds of terrible freak accidents happen. My heart goes out to the woman’s family. Especially her father who was with her, that must’ve been an awful thing to see.

    Posted by Jayme | March 21, 2008, 11:49 am
  8. “Judy Kay Zagorski was simply sitting in a boat, driving at 25 mph, when she spotted the stingray that jumped out of the water into her boat.”………… She “spotted it”? This sentence doesn’t make sense. Perhaps she “spotted it” for about a tenth of a second, as it was coming towards her face. But if she died instantly from the impact, I don’t see how you can say she spotted it.

    Posted by Josh | March 21, 2008, 1:34 pm
  9. guys, she died in the hospital from her injuries and not instantly so stop this nonsense arguments

    Posted by voodoo | March 21, 2008, 1:42 pm
  10. whats with the visor?

    Posted by jane | March 21, 2008, 2:13 pm
  11. I, for one, welcome our new Stingray overlords.

    Posted by Rick Webb | March 30, 2008, 1:07 pm
  12. No this article is quite poorly written.. there are no “nonsense arguments” vodoo. It’s really not clear whom actually died… Despite the article title, and the inicial statements it appears it is possible the father was struck. I’m only clear on the data from reading another coverage of this incident.

    Posted by YoYoMa | April 1, 2008, 9:08 pm
  13. [...] Stingray kills woman on boat Green Expander Posted by root 20 minutes ago (http://www.greenexpander.com) A woman from michigan was killed thursday in the florida keys by a stingray that flew out of the by greenexpander march 21 2008 email this post print this post post a comment green car insurance middot green fingered photographer middot green packs powere Discuss  |  Bury |  News | Stingray kills woman on boat Green Expander [...]

    Posted by Stingray kills woman on boat Green Expander | low cost car insurance | June 16, 2009, 11:31 pm
  14. It was probably trauma from being hit with a 500 pound stingray. Not likely stabbed. That is an awful lot of force. It is just so unbelievable though. I would never imagine one could be in such risk by merely being in a boat.

    Posted by Kathy@accident attorney | June 18, 2009, 1:57 pm
  15. Sad story. Makes you realize how fleeting life is.

    Posted by Boat Trader | December 29, 2009, 11:04 pm
  16. Very interesting discussion glad that I came across such informative post. Keep up the good work friend. Glad to be part of your net community. Thanks.

    Posted by fast free style swim trainer | March 4, 2010, 6:09 am

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