There's been a tragic update regarding a tourist who was sucked into a boat's propeller and tragically had her legs torn off.
Hannah Smith, a 22-year-old Alabama native, had just graduated Summa Cum Laude from Miles College with a degree in communications and graphic design and was celebrating with friends on a Caribbean getaway when tragedy struck.
During an excursion to Pearl Island, Hannah fell from a pontoon boat while it was docking at Nassau Cruise Port and was sucked beneath the vessel by its spinning propeller.
Her injuries were catastrophic, but her survival, nothing short of miraculous.
Two female passengers managed to pull her from the water, saving her life. She was rushed to a local hospital and later airlifted to the U.S. for emergency surgery.
Her sister, Rachel Smith, has been keeping supporters updated through a GoFundMe appeal, where she revealed Hannah’s condition remains critical due to ongoing complications.
“Hannah suffered a few setbacks. She had to undergo additional transfusions of blood, platelets, and dialysis. Before she was taken into her scheduled surgery, she momentarily came out of her sedation,” Rachel wrote.
“She was able to acknowledge our presence and encouraging words with head nods and squeezing our hands. She has underwent her fifth surgery. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”
While Hannah remains in intensive care, questions surrounding the circumstances of the accident have sparked heated debate, per the Mirror.
Initial reports suggested alcohol might have been a factor, with rumors that she had jumped into the water. But her mother, Tracy Smith, is setting the record straight.
“Hannah was not intoxicated. She fell from the boat. It's hurtful to say she jumped because she did not,” Tracy said.
Tracy also voiced her frustration that police hadn't interviewed Hannah's best friend, Brooklyn Pitre, who witnessed the accident.
“These kids work their a***s off to graduate. It was a celebratory trip,” she said. “Do they have fun? Yes. Were they drunk? No. Did she jump? No. Are we completely aware of what happened? No.
“But could there have been a safety mechanism that was off, was the boat rocking, we are not 100 percent sure of that. There are so many things that could have been happening. I want to know the truth. This was a young woman, happy, celebrating her life and now she's fighting for it.”
Her father, Marvin Smith, echoed that sentiment, saying doctors confirmed she was lucid upon arrival. “Everything he told me suggested she was coherent” and “not inebriated,” he said.
According to reports, the accident occurred around 3:55PM as the pontoon ferry approached the port, per the Daily Mail.
Witnesses say the captain immediately shut off the engine after hearing screams of “she jumped off” followed by a loud bang from the boat’s starboard side. He then spotted Hannah in the water surrounded by a pool of blood.
A witness confirmed to police that two passengers managed to pull her back on board before she was rushed to hospital with severe injuries.
The Royal Bahamas Police issued a statement saying: “The victim is alleged to have entered the water from a vessel she was a passenger on while it was attempting to dock. She sustained serious injuries to her lower body, caused by the vessel's propeller.”
Back home, her alma mater is rallying around her. Miles College shared on Facebook: “Sending our deepest prayers and support to recent graduate Hannah Smith, Summa Cum Laude Class of 2025, who is currently in critical condition.
Hannah exemplifies the Golden Standard, and we are believing in her full recovery. We ask our Miles family and extended community to keep her lifted in prayer and to support however you can.”