Foundation Named for FIU Student Brings Awareness to Boating Safety

A foundation named after a Florida International University student who was killed in a boating crash is now working to raise awareness relating to boating safety.

CBS Miami reports that 20-year-old Monica Burguera died in a 2006 boating crash when she and her friends rented a boat to go to the South Florida regatta. On the way back to the marina the boat in which Monica was riding broke down and began to drift. Suddenly another boat crashed into Monica’s boat, killing her and another person, James Noel Pou.

In the aftermath of Monica’s death, her family and friends created the Monica Burguera Foundation which has partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary to provide boating safety courses.

Though the class is only six hours, it can have a significant impact on safety outcomes. Mark Chiappone, US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 6 Vice Commander, said that “Just taking that six-hour class, even though it’s not hands on, makes you 80 percent less likely of getting in a boating accident.”

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