The family of a two-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a speedboat while on a beach at Paradise Island have called the British police to travel to the Bahams to launch a thorough investigation into the tragedy.
Detectives from England are waiting for the results of an inquest being held later this month before deciding to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the death of Paul Gallagher.
The Gallagher family from Kent, England say their lives were torn apart following the horrific boating accident on Cabbage Beach outside the Atlantis resort more than two years ago and are demanding answers from the Bahamas government. They say they have been met with a “wall of silence” since the tragedy.
Paul, who was born at the turn of the millennium, was staying with his family at Atlantis when he was struck by an out-of-control speedboat and fatally injured as he sat in a deckchair on August 15, 2002.
His mother, father, sister and brother were all present at the time of the tragedy as the boat ran aground and skipped along the beach. The rst of the family escaped injury but the propellor ran into little Paul’s head.
His parents were there as he succumbed to his injuries five days later at Doctor’s Hospital.
The family says they have been ignored by Bahamian ministers and police with letters going unanswered and phone calls unreturned.
The family met with British government officials and Metropolitan Police officers last week in London. Foreign Minsiter baroness Symons has arranged to meet with the Bahamian High Commissioner to the UK in the next two weeks to discuss the incident.
A letter to the British Coroner Roy Palmer from the Attorney general’s office in the Bahamas has confirmed that the driver of the boat was not licensed and that the boat, operated by Sea and Ski Ocean Sports, was not insured at the time of the accident.
Paul’s mother, Andrea Gallagher told The Tribune, “The Bahamas just wants this forgotten so they can concentrate on their tourist industry. Our lives have been ripped apart and our little boy is dead. The Bahamas wants to cover this up and let it fade into the background. We will never do that. What has been done in the Bahamas since my son died and how many other people have to die?”
Source: Adam Jankiewicz, The Tribune
