An Old Westbury man was one of four people killed in a boating accident near Miami during Fourth of July fireworks celebrations on Friday, according to various media reports.
The Miami Herald reported on Sunday that Jason Soleimani, 23, was aboard a boat belonging to his girlfriend’s family when it collided with another vessel at about 10:40 p.m. in Biscayne Bay, located three miles south of Florida’s Rickenbacker Causeway. Soleimani was killed him instantly, the paper said.
The boat reportedly then circled in the dark before crashing into a third ship before it was corralled.
The three boats were towed and are being held by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as the accident’s cause is investigated.
Fish and Wildlife spokesman Jorge Pino told the Miami Herald on Sunday that hundreds of boats go back into the bay following the fireworks, but there is no speed limit, traffic lanes or officials out on the water to safely direct the vessels.
Heather Hanono, Soleiman’s girlfriend, was among seven people injured in the accident, suffering a dislocated shoulder and concussion. The crash left a hole in the right side of the family’s boat, a 2005 36-foot Carrera center-console, according to the Miami Herald.
Hanono later told the Miami Herald she met Soleimani two years ago through the online dating site JDate and that he had been working in real estate and studying to become an attorney.
“He was the most genuine guy in the entire world,” she said.
A funeral for Soleimani was held Monday at Riverside-Nassau North Chapels in Great Neck. Soleimani was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing.
