A 17-year-old American tourist Logan Pratt is dead after she was hit by a boat while swimming off the Matachica beach in San Pedro.
And, almost 24 hours later it's still not immediately clear why the teenager and her mother 56-year-old Tamra Lee - who were staying at the Grand Baymen Resort in the town -drove up about five miles to northern Ambergris Caye to swim off the Matachica beach.
It happened at about 2:15 PM when Logan and her mom were swimming in the open water. Experts say they should have been swimming with a flag because that area is busy with boat traffic.
But all indications are that they weren't, and at that very moment, Belizean boat captain Jesse Smith, was returning from a tour of Mexico Rocks, and passing through the area. He only stopped when he heard a noise. He thought he'd hit a log. Instead, Jesse's f?b?rgl????k?ff n?m?d '??th?w', which belongs to Pro Dive Center, had hit both 17-year-old Logan and her mom Tamra.
Both women were rushed to the Ambergris Hope Clinic where the 17-year-old was pronounced dead at around 3:00 pm. Her mother sustained what we are told are relatively minor injuries.
Police detained the boat captain Smith, however, many of his friends and supporters protested in front of the police station this afternoon, demanding Smith's release and claiming that he was not at fault and should not be charged.
7News will keep following this story.
