Spotted Eagle Ray Kills Woman in Florida
Warning: Flying fish kill
Judy Kay Zagorski of Michigan died in a freak accident on Thursday when a 75 pound stingray leaped out of the water and struck her in the face. The 57-year-old woman was a passenger in a boat her father was driving when the accident happened.
It was the impact, not the barbs that likely caused death, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish 
Stingrayand Wildlife Conservation Commission. "He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously,'' Pino said. An autopsy will be done tomorrow.
Spotted stingrays can reach a massive 500 pounds with a wingspan of 10 feet and have been known to occasionally jump out of the water to escape a predator give birth or shake off parasites. But human deaths from rays are rare - they aren't aggressive.
In 2006, Steve Irwin died when a stingray barb pierced his heart as swam, near Port Douglas, Australia. And a month later at Lighthouse Point, an eagle ray jumped from the water and lodged a 2 ½" ray into a man's chest, severely injuring him.
Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Becky Herrin said today's accident was beyond bizarre. "The ray just jumped in the boat," she said.
This definitely gets filed under WTF. There are some accidents that make you shake your head in wonder...
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