The parents of a toddler who was killed on a Paradise Island beach more than three years ago are continuing their quest for “justice”.
An online British newspaper reported on Tuesday that two Scotland Yard detectives are to fly to The Bahamas to reopen an investigation into the death of two-year-old Paul Gallegher, a citizen of the United Kingdom.
His parents, Paul and Andrea Gallagher first made headlines locally when a runaway speedboat careened onto the beach behind the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in August 2002, ploughing through the family and severely injuring the boy, who died soon after.
“It was bad enough losing Paul,” his 41-year-old mother was quoted as saying. “But the injustice that has followed has made it even worse.”
On Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner of Police for Crime Reginald Ferguson told The Bahama Journal that he was not aware of any plans for Scotland Yard investigators to travel to The Bahamas to carry out further investigations into the matter.
But he said it may have been a matter arranged through the Attorney General’s office and he assured that local authorities are always cooperative in facilitating their foreign counterparts.
A coroner’s inquest in The Bahamas determined that the toddler’s death was accidental.
However, an inquest in the United Kingdome last year returned an open verdict amid accusations that the boat was being recklessly operated and that four lifeguards failed to alert holidaymakers that the 2000 horsepower craft was speeding out of control, Telegraph news reported.
The Gallaghers claim that the speedboat’s operator did not have the proper license and further claim that water sports operators are still operating illegally on the island.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin said that proposed legislation regulating the water sports industry in The Bahamas was being drafted.
“The legislation would deal with the issue of the suspension and revocation of licenses, criminal offenses and the qualifications of individuals,” Minister Hanna-Martin said in a recent interview with the Bahama Journal.
“It would also address the issue of training sessions for those who come to The Bahamas for the first time to jump on jet skis. We are recommending that there must be a short training period that would be used to at least familiarize them with jet skis before they use them.”
Officials maintained that following the tragic incident and numerous complaints, hundreds of jet ski operators were trained.
Minister Hanna-Martin has also said that Bahamian officials have kept British authorities up to date regarding the improvements that were being made to the industry.
But when she spoke with The Bahama Journal, the minister admitted that considering the available manpower, the biggest challenge would be enforcement.
“We have been trying to bring together all of those forces to see if we can regulate the sport but the problem is that there are one or two – who for some reason cannot appreciate the very serious implications of their lawless behaviour – who end up besmirching the character of the industry and The Bahamas,” she said.
From: The Bahama Journal
