Mum's horror death on family boat trip – killed by giant stingray

A leisure boat excursion in the Florida Keys concluded in tragedy when Judy Kay Zagorski, a 57-year-old mother from Michigan, perished after a large spotted eagle ray jumped from the water and hit her in the face – something experts characterised as a ‘freak accident’.

The remarkable incident involving the spotted eagle ray occurred near Marathon, on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key, while Judy was spending a day out with her family in the spring of 2008.

According to authorities, Judy was positioned at the bow of the boat, which was moving at around 25 mph, when the 75-pound ray – possessing a wingspan of approximately six feet – abruptly propelled itself from the water.

The collision sent her tumbling backwards onto the floor of the vessel. Officials confirmed she displayed no evidence of puncture wounds from the creature’s venomous barbs.

Monroe County’s medical examiner confirmed Judy died instantly from blunt force trauma, suffering multiple skull fractures and direct brain injury. She was not stung.

Her sister Joyce Ann Miller was standing directly beside her but emerged without injury. Judy’s father, Virgil Bouck, was at the helm at the time, while her mother Verneta was also on board, as the family had been enjoying a spring holiday together.

The ray died inside the boat following the collision. Wildlife officials described the incident as a freak accident — spotted eagle rays are not aggressive and only use their venomous tail barbs as a means of defence.

While they are known to leap from the water to escape predators or rid themselves of parasites, collisions with humans are almost entirely unheard of.

Spotted eagle rays can weigh up to 500 pounds, with wingspans stretching as wide as ten feet. They are protected under Florida law and typically glide serenely near the ocean’s surface.

Judy’s tragic death left both locals and tourists deeply shaken. Speaking to NBC News, her brother Dan Bouck described her as “a truly awesome sister” who volunteered with terminally ill patients and ran Beadle Bay Marina and Campground alongside her late husband Steve Zagorski.

Experts stress that such occurrences are extraordinarily rare. There have been a handful of isolated cases involving rays landing in boats previously, yet fatalities are almost never recorded.

The incident has drawn comparisons to other high-profile accidents involving sea creatures, including the tragic death of Steve Irwin in Australia.