A father has been labeled a hero after diving after his daughter after she fell out of an open porthole on the Disney Cruise they were on together. Thankfully, his quick thinking saved his 5-year-old daughter’s life, but the mother of the girl only narrowly avoided criminal charges for apparent negligence on her part.
The girl plummeted 50 feet into the ocean below with a police report suggesting that she had lost her balance while posing next to a porthole on the cruise ship. According to the New York Post, her father dove in 45 seconds later after initially trying to find help elsewhere on the ship. While he reportedly struggled to see where his daughter was he was thankfully able to follow the sound of her cries and keep a hold of her while treading water until help arrived.
The father was commended for his heroic actions and quick thinking, had he not done what he did, the five-year-old girl could very well have perished in the cold blue water. As for the girl’s mother, she was not treated with nearly as much reverence. In fact, she found herself to be the target of a great deal of scorn.
She was almost charged with criminal negligence
Initially the father was vilified as rumors spread that he had lifted his daughter up onto a railing for a photograph. Authorities quickly corrected the rumor and explained the full story.
The incident occurred after the mother encouraged her daughter to pose for a photo while leaning against the open porthole. While she insisted that she had no idea it was open (apparently others had window panes), detectives dispute her claims. In a report, detective Christopher Favitta wrote that it was blatantly obvious that there was no window.
“Upon looking at the window myself, as a prudent person, I immediately saw that the window was open to the air, and did not have a covering.”
He went on to say that the act “placed the child in a life-threatening situation.” Despite this, the mother provided pictures of other portholes with window panes to explain why she may have thought it was safe for her child to lean against the opening. She also stated that she felt as though there ought to be coverings over the holes and that Disney was responsible for the safety of people on board.
Charges of “criminal culpable negligence” against the mother were recommended by Favitta but Florida’s state attorney ultimately decided not to prosecute. “While the defendant’s conduct is arguably negligent and irresponsible,” reads an email from Assistant State Attorney Melissa Kelly, “it does not rise to the egregious level of conduct necessary to establish criminal culpable negligence.”
