Last year, Smith, 22, went on a Carnival Cruise in the Bahamas with her friend, Brooklyn Pitre, and the pair booked a day excursion through the cruise line’s app that included a ferry trip from Nassau to Pearl Island, according to a federal complaint obtained by the Daily Mail.
When they got to the island, Smith said the staff was “grooming” them with large amounts of rum punch and that she was forced to drink “liter pour” — which Daily Mail describes as “a potent concoction” — that was “surreptitiously spiked” with a “sedating substance known to impair alertness, cognitive functioning, and judgment.”
Eventually, Smith had to go to the bathroom and was told to “use the water” by the crew member.
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When they returned to Nassau, Smith, “grossly impaired and compromised,” had to relieve herself, so she went into the water as she was told to do earlier, thinking the engine and propellers were off.
However, “Plaintiff suddenly felt her lower extremities being sucked under the vessel,” per the complaint, as the ferry captain then turned on the engine, which caused Smith to be “violently and forcibly grabbed, sucked underwater, and brutally slashed” by a propeller.
Smith’s left leg faced “an immediate traumatic amputation” in the water before Pitre got her out. Smith had to have her right leg amputated below the knee in the hospital.
According to the Daily Mail, “She is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Carnival and tour operators Sun Cay and Pearl Investment Management Group for negligence and inflicting severe mental and physical suffering.”
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Additionally, Pitre has filed her own lawsuit claiming one of the staff members “pressed his hands and groin against her buttocks without her consent.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Carnival shared a statement with the Daily Mail.
“Our thoughts are with Ms. Smith, and we wish her strength and healing,” the spokesperson said. “At Carnival Cruise Line, we continuously strive to keep our guest and crew safe as a priority. Out of respect for ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further. We remain committed to supporting safety and wellbeing in all we do.”