Death Ray

[Ron Caliburn]

March 21, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — A vacationer from Michigan out for a family boat ride in the Florida Keys died Thursday when a 75-pound spotted eagle ray flew out of the water and struck her in the head.

Judy Kay Zagorski, 55, is believed to have been killed by blunt force trauma, according to Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"Out of nowhere, a spotted eagle ray pops up in front of the boat and collides with the victim," who was standing at the bow, said Pino. The ray was about 5 to 6 feet wide, he said.

"There was nothing anybody could have done in that situation. They were just out having a good time. It's a sad, sad situation."

Freak accident? Maybe . . . or maybe something ray like is attacking innocent boaters in the Keys.

[A. Pendragon]

Awe shit man. I am suppose to be down in the Keys.. later this year.

[Kolya]

What is it with people from Michigan?

Are we even sure it's a ray at all?

[Ron Caliburn]

It's something fishy alright.

[KonThaak]

Are we even sure it's a ray at all?

Lex says they've got pictures of the offender... Sometimes weird animal deaths are just weird animal deaths.

[concrete_Angel]

Sorry, I'm way to spaced out lately. All I could think of was someone being struck in the head with a large gun that shoots spotted eagles.

[Ron Caliburn]

Apparently the thing hit her so hard it shattered her skull and caused massive brain injuries.

[KonThaak]

Lex said she'd heard that the ray had hit her, knocked her back, and she'd hit her head on the boat... The skull shattering could've been a combination of both hits. Also, they were "out boating"... Some of those motor boats can get moving pretty fast, and a 75-pound fish hitting you head-on (pun intended) at 60+ mph can do some pretty massive damage.

Hell, a 50-pound box falling off the top shelf of the trucks I drive for a living could shatter a man's foot...

[Ron Caliburn]

They said it was 25 mph, not 60.

[KonThaak]

That's still pretty fast to collide with a 75-pound object against your head... The aforementioned 50-pound box falling from the top shelf doesn't fall more than 6 feet, and can't be traveling more than a few mph... Considering that's enough to cripple a man not wearing steel-toed boots for life, I imagine that the reports are about right for a 75-pound object colliding with a woman's head at 25 mph.

[Ron Caliburn]

But what was it doing colliding with her?

It's not like it couldn't notice there was a 25 foot boat there.

[KonThaak]

Animals don't think like we do, man... That's why we end up with roadkill. You think they don't notice the cars coming at them? It isn't that at all... To their perception, the cars just aren't moving as fast as they thought they were... To that ray's perception, it pry thought it had time to jump up, grab a bug or whatever it had seen, and get back into the water before that boat got there.

That, or it was curious to see what the hell was floating across the water at the speed of a motorboat... *shrugs*

Whatever the cause, rays are sometimes known to jump out of the water periodically... It's not exactly an uncommon occurrence.

[Ron Caliburn]

I do know the msot dangerous animal in many parts of the country is a deer due to the number of driving fatalities they cause.


But can you find me a previous incidence of an eagle rary cruhing the skull of someone in a passing motorboat?

If you can, then I'll accept this was just a random fluke.

[concrete_Angel]

Boat...fluke...hey, I get it! Good one!