5 hours ago
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North Texas family's imagination abrogation turns nightmare aft hubby astir severed by vessel propeller
A imagination summertime abrogation successful paradise this week has turned into a nightmare for a Prosper family.
A 42-year-old hubby and begetter is successful intensive attraction successful a Miami infirmary aft a transgression successful the Bahamas that astir outgo him his life.
After a formation from DFW that arrived successful the Bahamas connected Monday, the Slough household couldn't hold to airs for a photograph connected the formation earlier a 10-day abrogation successful Exuma.
But minutes later, connected the archetypal time of the trip, thing happened successful the h2o that would alteration their lives forever.
Slough family
"Just similar a 20-minute snorkel, you know, close determination connected the beach, close earlier we ate," said Whitney Slough.
Whitney Slough said her husband, Brent, and their 2 daughters were snorkeling lone astir 20 feet from the formation erstwhile a tiny vessel appeared on the shoreline.
"I saw this vessel speeding truthful adjacent to shore, and I was like, 'what the hell?'" Whitney Slough said.
"I felt similar a thump thump, and I was like, 'did I conscionable get deed by a boat?'" said Brent Slough.
A 42-year-old erstwhile Army Ranger, Brent Slough astir had the little fractional of his assemblage sliced disconnected by the propeller leaf arsenic it plowed implicit him.
"His bottommost was astir wholly detached from his legs," said Whitney Slough.
"My near limb wasn't functioning, and I felt similar thing was incorrect with my little body," Brent Slough said.
The trauma amplified erstwhile the couple's teenage girl had to rescue her begetter with a float.
Meanwhile, the boat, captured connected a information camera, kept going.
"So I surfaced and I looked to my close and I spot 2 guys successful a vessel and 1 of them looks backmost and they conscionable support connected going," Brent Slough said.
What followed was a harrowing travel successful the backmost of a motortruck to an ambulance pitchy that would instrumentality Brent Slough to a infirmary successful the U.S.
"The doc told me, 'please get to a infirmary successful Miami, you request to get to the U.S. for thing this traumatic," said Brent Slough.
The injuries see aggregate limb fractures and heavy gashes that doctors accidental could inactive beryllium life-threatening if they go infected.
But the mates knows it could beryllium worse.
"This was God getting america done this 100%," Whitney Sough said.
With their daughters inactive successful the Bahamas, their parent is heading backmost and connected a mission: She is determined to find the men connected this boat.
"Oh, they're going to beryllium found," she said.
Whitney Slough worries that authorities won't find the vessel liable without her persistence.
"It's against the instrumentality to beryllium wrong 200 feet of the shore," Whitney Slough said. "Brent was astir 20 feet retired ... I conscionable privation they would crook themselves in, but if they don't crook themselves in, past we person to find them."
A household abrogation that should beryllium carefree, but alternatively turned into fearfulness for the Prosper family, which volition yet request assistance arranging an costly backstage ambulance formation from Miami to Dallas. Friends of the household person started a GoFundMe for expenses.
"It breaks my bosom due to the fact that we're not connected abrogation together, and we are not with our girls astatine the aforesaid time," said Whitney Slough. "I'm truthful grateful that he's alive."
If there's 1 happening that the Sloughs said others tin larn from their experience, it's however overmuch they privation they had question aesculapian security for a travel retired of the country.
CBS News Texas contacted authorities successful the Bahamas astir the investigation, but person not been capable to scope anyone acquainted with the case.
J.D. Miles is an award-winning newsman who has been covering North Texas for CBS 11 since 1996.
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