The government of Dominica, through the Ministry of Tourism and Legal Affairs, has said the island is “shocked and deeply saddened” by an accident which claimed the life of a visiting American student.
Casey Shulman, a student of the University of Virginia, was killed in the sea off the coast of Mero on Saturday when she was struck by a boat’s propeller.
In a release the ministry offered its sincere and deep condolences to Shulman’s family, friends and colleagues.
“Officials of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Discover Dominica Authority, the Dominica Air and Seaport Authority the ship’s agent, and related private sector institutions have all conveyed condolences to the friends of Casey who were visiting with her in Dominica and have been providing every manner of support to them as they attempt to deal with this tragic loss,” the release said.
The ministry said While investigations by the police continue into the accident, its affiliated organizations will support Casey’s family with the necessary arrangements here on the island.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time,” the release said.
So many comments: some layinb blame, some offering suggestions, yet none stating to be a witness to the incident and thus havign firsthand knowledge.
yet…these comments show what is typical about our Dominican society.
It’s a very sad, unfortunate tragedy which occured. Why, oh why are Dominicans so quick to judge and give advice and opions without knowing th full extent? I know speculation can sometimes be healthy, but for some of you – IT’S UNHEALTHY.
Noone so far has said what happened, how it happened …we just know that it happened. No one knows what safety measures were in place if any – eyt so many assumtions that none were in place.
what you you define as safety measures? precautions?
let’s not be so fast to judge, criticise the driver, the deceased, the government. Let’s offer sympathy.,be truly sympathetic and when, and only when we know the facts, should we be on DNO debating the precautionary measures taken or not.
i just find it sad that there is less sympathy for the family and more blame for parties involved an or not invloved.
it’s a trad=gedy – grieve and then blame…not blame and grieve – it just agitates a situation
where is the edit button DNO?
My deepest condolences to Casey’s family. May the
Almighty strengthen you all at this sad moment.
i dont know what happened exactly but americans are people who love to do things that no one else have ever done and maybe she died doing something she wanted to do so please give the boatman a break. dominicans love to please invited guests and that is what he was doing so please lay off the man. when ever something happens to a foreigner we take their side without checking the real info. sorry about the young lady but this man may not be having a good nights rest. we are nice people so let us also be fear. think about ourselves in the boatmans place, what would we be doing?
Gotta start warning them tourists about the dangers that come with the beautiful sites around the island. Too many of them are dying when they go to visit our Sites/beaches.
may the god lord bless ur family with comfort
sad sad sad sad
we bless her family friends and others who knew Casey Shulman . 
condolences to the family. so sad
At least the New York Press is not giving bad review
Please click on the link
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/boat-propeller-fatally-strikes-student-22-dominica-article-1.1212801
rest in peace my dear.
WOW! This is so sad to here.It seem to be Quite clear the the Students including Ms Shulman were on there own. There should be clear instructions to everyone of the 3 mentioned Groups 1)Those who went ashore. 2)Those who stayed on the the boat and 3)Those who went swimming (especially those who went swimming) all the students and staff should be accounted for (head count etc) and most importantly there should be clear directions and procedures to be followed by the pilots of the boat and their staff responsible for people in the water,those leaving the boat and those going swimming. These instructions should be made clear to everyone. This should not have happened. Our prayers go out to The Family and friends of Shulman family and friends.
The boat owner , and operator shuold be arrested, no precausion was taken to avoid this the government should not sweep this under the rug ,
A full investigation should be conducted.
And some one should pay for that girl”s passing away so tragegly.
May her soul rest in peace while we travel to florida to bring more cruise ship, I hope our government hadle this correctly cus the world is watching.
You were there? How do you know what precautions were or were not taken? but you quick to talk about being arrested?
Accidents do happen and this is sad. Dominica’s sympathy goes out with the family.
This should in no way affect perception on Dominica if it is handled properly and systems are put in place to prevent another such accident.
In every bad situation there can be a positive outcome. Be sensitive
very very sad news my prayers and thoughts are with her family and love ones.again sympathy families.
Sad Sad Sad… I hope we create avenues by which we prevent future accidents of that nature.
Be prepared for a “LAWSUIT” by the deceased family
What sadness just before the holidays. May the family find peace and comfort in the memories of their loved one. We will keep you in our prayers.
May her soul rest in peace, such an unfortunate accident. May Andrew and his family also find peace to deal that issue it is very sad. God’s blessings to all.
very tragic indeed, may her family find comfort in this time of sorrow. i cannot imagine the pain that her family is going through right now, DEAR LORD, please give them strength and courage.
My sincere condolences go out to her family, this is too too sad
So sad So sad. Our prayers with the family.
My prayers and thoughts go out to both families, friends,loved ones on this tragedy.It’s heart breaking especially @ this time.
So sad. RIP Casey. Our prayers are with the family and friends.
well these are the things that will be put in place in time to come. U have ministers that dont know anything about their ministry, but in deed, there should be regulations in place for boats.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Shulman family as they cope with the loss of their girl. R.I.P. Casey
I am sorry to read that this young lady lost her life. My heartfelt sympathy to her family and friends. May her soul rest in peace. Amen!
As it is said, accidents do happen and will always happen, some through negligence and others probably not. This is an unforeseen circumstance. As we say, what is there to happen will always happen, as sad as it may be and if only we knew. We cannot foresee the future. If we did, we would avoid accidents and other sad circumstances of life. This would also curtail us living a full life and our enjoyment of it. A few words for that is, “It is a vicious circle.” What we could do is to try to be careful. Take precaution.
sad
it is the boats propeller she got cut up in there whilst turning the boat to go out to sea she was caught up in there
It’s sad to hear such news. This may not be the choicest words but need to be said. I guess most of us saw the movie “Turista” I never heard of someone (Dcan)getting wounded by props or falling into the boiling lake but somehow tourists( usually American) meet their end in strange ways. I am not saying that she was in anyway reponsible but we already know that. Americans will behave as such so we as hosts have to be three times as hospitable and many more vigilant especially in the case of young adults. The general public also has to lookout for them , even babysit them toneh!
sorry about this misfortune, we Dominican send
condolences to the family and the people of the USA
Free up toes,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is serious. Dominica is expressing interest and invitation to tourist to come to the Island but Dominica is NOT ready for tourist. What does it take to put things in place that will inform and protect these visitors to Dominica.
What about the signs at the various swimming location, Titou Gorge for instance, how many signs are there with at least a little diagram of what is underground, the depth of the water and the danger it posed for those not so good swimmers.
What about those speedboats which comes to shore close to where people are swimming? Are there warnings for them? are they license?
What about drivers who quickly try to illegal over take visitors who are in rentals? How are they protected, or is it that when visitors come to Dominica that they need to come at our own risk? What if I am visiting, How do I know that a driver will not be drunk and driving, and ready to run me off the road because he is familiar with it and I am not.
Dominica is a very beautiful place but not much consequences in place for recklessness. It’s always a tourist die here and a tourist die there. Instead of looking at it like we are putting Dominica in a bad light, please listen to our plea to make Dominica more visitor friendly.
There are deep holes in some roads in Roseau. While tourist are walking around taking pictures they are at risk for breaking their legs. It is serious. There is a big hole in the corner of upper lane and River Street. Thank God they blocked the one at Upper Lane and COrk Street. It is serious. Let’s do something to make our Island more welcoming.
What you stated is correct. You deserved more thumbs up and none down. If only they read your comments carefully, comprehend them and be realistic about them. Those incidents could occur to anyone when they least expect it.
These are serious issues which you should also address to the appropriate government department. The government should rectify them as soon as possible.
A few years ago a man, his wife and young daughter visited Dominica. He was not Dominican. His wife is. They were bathing in the sea, taking a last swim prior to leaving Dominica the afternoon to return to the country where they resided. The daughter got into difficulty and her father went to her rescue. He drowned. I did hear that his body was found in the sea at Canefield. This was extremely sad. What a shock for the wife, daughter, other members of their family and friends who knew them.
A notice should be placed in that area. There seems to be an undercurrent where the daughter was bathing and where it took her father out to sea and he subsequently drowned.
Are you serious? Why is Dominica NOT READY for tourists? Accidents do happen. Do you think signs or the like would or could have prevented this accident? Do you think that accidents do not happen in America? Wake up, do you not know the meaning of accident? ACCIDENT. Signs of any kind will not prevent people to do whatever they want to do. Do you not know that people ignore signs and they take chances? If the victim was killed by the boats propeller I think she was underneath the boat in the water because the propeller is NOT INSIDE the boat. Please give us some CREDIT.
Should drivers not overtake others because they are visitors? Do they know who are and who are not visitors? No one should overtake any vehicle in areas where it is not safe to overtake; you make no sense at all. You will NEVER know when a driver is driving drunk. The best drivers encounter accidents. Sober drivers encounter accidents. Dominica is VISITOR FRIENDLY, many accidents can be avoided. I wish there were never any accident. Do you pay attention to what is going on around the universe? I hope you NEVER get involved in and ACCIDENT. I visited Atlanta and several cities in Florida, which are not better than parts of Dominica and this is AMERICA. I visited Tortola and the airport and roads are more scary than scary itself. I lived in St. Croix and Puerto Rico and none are better than Dominica. Who are you to say Dominica is NOT READY for tourists and it should be more welcoming? To be welcoming is to be accident free? You should start preparing Dominica for tourism since in your opinion it is not ready and ACCIDENTS should never happen. We should protect our visitors, but we can not say when and where an accident will take place. We should inform our visitors to be CAREFUL of their surroundings and to protect themselves from possible crimes but they should also be alert to prevent possible accidents such as this one.
This occassion is a SAD one and I feel for the family’s loss, but to blame the Island and the industry is incensitive.
GO try speeding over the set limits on any highway in that same America. There used to be a no-overtaking sign in some areas, it was removed/destroyed/flown away/ stolen, and is no longer there; simply because no one paid attention to it. Try swimming in your United States where there is a no swimming sign/ or ride your speed boat in a swimming area. Go to Disney world and check out the signs that on the entrance to every ride. Let a bus driver just stop anywhere to pick up passengers, see what happens. Who are you kidding? Don’t be ridiculous! Who are you trying to define accidents to? There are risk elements in every aspect of life, but there is also something we refer to as risk reduction and precautionary measures.
It was an accident, it happens jet saying
First..My condolences goes out to the family and friends of the deceased.
And second you talking a lot of crap, D/ca first a tourist dieing may her soul rest in peace, D/ca alone that have holes in the road and D/ca alone people overtaking tourist.
If u trying to make a point ask ADMIN to delete that one and try again.
I agree with you but I don’t know the circumstances surrounding this incident to say it was carelessness that caused it. But I do agree that we need more signs for eg at Titou Gorge. I’ve been up the gorge but when i went there was told that you can swim up and there is a place to stand. I did not realize the amount you had to swim to get to the place where you can stand. Once I started swimming and looked in and still could not see the waterfall, I decided to turn back, then got someone with a tube to take me in there. We need signs with depths and distances.
I don’t understand why so many thumbs down on this by “Citizen K” – Dominica needs to take more safety measures with the lives of both tourists and residents.
For example, signs at dangerous swimming spots, checking of tyres and brakes on ALL buses, warning signs at places (Like Batibou beach) where there is risk of robbery, filling in deep pot holes, cordoning off of swimming areas at popular spots to keep boats out. And accountability for causing harm to human life.
My sincere condolences to family and friends who have tragically lost their beautiful girl. I am so sorry for your loss.
What ‘Citizen K’ stated makes good sense. Some people are thumbs down happy. They must be addicted to it. They could not wait for thumbs up and down – the rating to be reinstated. They also applauded it. This is a typical example. Wish they would provide their opinion. Note the amount of thumbs down (also up) and note the number of comments. This goes to show that many of them do not comment. They were the majority who wanted them reinstated. I suppose it made them happy. It is a strange way to be happy.
Yeah i’m confused by that too when I saw 84 thumbs down I was like good lord! what has this person said?!! Citizen K is correct. There is nothing worng with what he is suggestions at all. All good suggestions albeit costly with budgetary contraints and all that.
My problem with his posting is he is assuming it was recklessness and is also seemingly taking the position that only in Dominica have there been incidents of such tragedies.
Citizen K a country can be the most tragedy-proof prossible, accidents will still happen hence the word and meaning of “accident.” In fact considering our lack of signage etc, such incidents are actually pretty low in number which reflects well on the tourism establishments and our public sector entities responsible for this aspect of our tourism product.
Once financing can be secured I see nothing wrong with what what you are suggesting at all but I think maybe the readers are a bit upset at your lack of empathy and support for your island in this tragedy.
Are you serious???? Where’s your common sense. My country has been ready for tourist since it’s discovery by that Columbus dude some upteen years ago. Which planet are you on to know when a drunk is at the wheel. You could be smoking a cigarette and cause an accident by just bobbing your head to take the lighter or on your cell phone. By way cell phones are the major cause of deaths on the road these past few years or hadn’t you noticed. NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE. Seeing as it seems so much better where ever you are why don’t you contribute some funds to fix those massive pot holes you talking about.
Though the tourism department may have failed in it’s bid to erect the necessary caution signs…you being so concerned have you ever thought to bring the question to them why these signs aren’t in place. Nothing wrong with giving them a headsup from time to time. The country is managed by human beings like yourself in case you thought that we had arrived at the bush tucker century. So with your input we will be working our way into the Robot engineered century. Watch any TV perhaps. Everybody else does.
As they wish for progress and consider Dominica progressive, there are some important matters as this one which they should take into consideration and rectify, as placing buoys and signs in the appropriate areas in the sea and rivers. This will avoid accidents and protect lives. If this is done and swimmers do not pay heed, then they will bear the consequences. If it does not result in fatalities, they should be charged for ignoring the signs. There should also be life guards in those popular areas. After all, tourists visit DA and the government is seeking additional tourism.
Citizen K, I can see you have good intentions, but it was badly expressd in view of the fact that we have seen nothing in the story to suggest that this was anything but an a very unfortunate accident the likes of which happen all over the world.
Instead of indulging in the blame game, let us at this time concentrate our energies on sympathizing with all concerned.
It is not really a blame. It is what I expect when I go to a foreign country. I would like to have an idea of where is safe and where I should go at my own risk. The myopic views of some readers may isolate my comments to this one accident. I do forgive them. My comments is based on the number of accidents that we apologize and send condolences for. It is one where I see pending dangers and we do nothing about it or wait too long to do something about it. I named some specific areas, stop by and see for yourself. And as someone rightly pointed out, it is not only for tourist but for our citizens as well. I would hate to see my grandmother step into that hole and break her leg, only for someone to tell me, it was an accident.
But what foolishness is that nah? What about the hundreads of ppl killed from boating accidents like this every year? Stop your BS RANTS
why some people got to be so stupid will be a mistry
IRONIC MUCH?
Does anyone know exactly what happened? Was it random boat or was the boat providing a service to her family?
Regarding the pot holes etc…there are pots holes everywhere in the world. How about asking people to be more aware when they are walking swimming etc?
I do agree with you regarding the need for more detailed signs especially at places like Titou Gorge, this could be very dangerous to someone who’s is unfamiliar with the area.
accidents happen,every where around the world. WE are sorry for her loss, but u guys nevr accept accidents always playing the blaming game
why so many negatives? everything said is true…..we need to open our eyes to the truth.
So are you saying they should fix the road for tourists? What about getting fix for Dominicans?
when u put dem comments as hidden etc more people will read dem so next time dno dont print
our prayers are with ur familiy and friends
how London?
so sad ta D.A
They need to put some buoys out delineating that boats cannot enter the area inside of the buoys, which would be for bathers or snokelers. There are plenty of places to bring your boat in on the island.
This island needs to really step up its medical standards and fast. There really is no ER for emergencies or personnel trained to move fast on such cases and in the right direction. Not a place to be it you have a serious injury or illness.
This was a terrible thing to have happen to anyone. Now stop talking and start moving on it DA.
anonymous2, Do you know whether the boat came in at the wrong place or maybe the unfortunate person may have swam out in the wrong direction? We should be mature enough to reserve such comments until the case is tried and blame is correctly assigned.
There is actually a designated swimming area at the mero beach. And a sign. THere is a line separating the swimming area from the rest of the beach. We should adhere to safety measures in place for our own safety.
What a traggic and unfortunate situation. I wonder how close the other boat was to the one on which she was.
May the family find peace and be comforted at this sad moment.
the boat she traveled in is the same boat that killed her .she had get off the boat
So sorry to hear of such incident….my condolence to her friends and family
I would really like to know how this happened. hummmm. I saw the people on the boat but would like to know how she fell off the boat. This is so sad, i can only imagine how her parents are feeling right now. Not seeing you child for about 6 months and when you do again she is in a coffin….hummm….sad sad sad
wat happen all you does’nt read before commenting, the young lady did not fell off the boat, she was in the water swimming when the boat made contact with her……..gzzzzzzzz
it is sad to hear this . R.I.P i pray for strenghth for family and friends of this girl .
Why people on boats dont pay attention
SAD, I have noticed that boaters frequently come too close to the shore where people bathe, this is noted particularly when there is a feast. Shame………
Boats and people swimming do not mix. An accident is bound to happen sooner or later which may result in fatalities.
Boats should take off and return in an area away from the swimmers. The government should ensure that there there will not be a repetition of what occurred to this young woman.
Very sad to hear
I have been to this beautiful island a few times and it is sad to hear that such a tragedy has occurred there. I pray for this girl and her family. CQ
RIP casey
Praying for your family. So sorry about Casey.
My sincere condolences to casey’s family. Our prayers are with the family and friends .and all those who knew. May God continue to strength the family in their time of bereavement.
To all the friends and family of Casey, May you find strength, in the memories that Casey has created. I pray that God’s peace will envelop all of you all as you go through this trying time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Dominica shares your grief.
this is why American business take so many precautions…..they don’t want to be liable for anything… Andrew was being a good sport by letting the students jump of the boat in a manner which was risky
Murphy’s law presented itself law
dno we should be able to delete comments when we realize we made a lot of mistakes…and our comment s should be posted automatically within 2 minutes
Tiny, all of us, no matter how proficient we are, do make mistakes. Prior to forwarding your comments, first try to re-read them. Use the computer spell check and research or a dictionary if you have one. The spell check will correct misspelled words.
You could also copy and paste your comments on Microsoft Word or whatever system you have. It will underline inaccurate spelling and punctuation marks so that you could correct them.
The comments must first be moderated. In view of the number of comments this obviously takes time. Have patience.
Tiny, it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves; having fun. However, if they were jumping off the boat into the water, this is a dangerous sport. It did prove to be for at least one. He should not have allowed them to do so. He could have at least looked to see if another boat was approaching prior to allowing them to jump into the sea. I would not try that.
Exactly. But People think it is an offense when you ask for measures to be put in place. Until law suits are made against entities, nothing will be done.
that was a horrible way to die i am waiting for the autopsy report
What are u going to achieve by the report?
He probably has interest in the result of the report. Is he an insurer?
and what the autopsy report have to do wit u??
Govt in shock? Implement health and safety regulations and open a body to train people about it. Then open another independent body to supervise and audit that institution doing the training, independently. I’m not in shock one bit. Train people and create some jobs at the same time. Dominica needs some stringent health and safety legislations in every industry. I hope this girl death makes the govt and people see that. May her soul rest in peace. And I am not blaming the govt by the way. I’m just stating the obvious
I support your comment 100%. I do hope that they open their eyes and start implementing strict regulations and rules and guidelines in areas where safety measures should definitely be in place.
Secondly, I hope they realize that this is a means to provide jobs for the helpless young persons that can be safeguards in swimming, climbing and others alike. THE GOVERNMENT TOO LIKE TO STOP PROGRAMS LIKE A FEW I KNOW OF WHEN THEY HAVE TO IMPLEMENT CERTAIN REGULATIONS AND USE THEIR OWN MONEY!
Safety Legislation? are you kidding? It’s Ok, who needs safety leglislation, just take precaution and use discretion, even if your visitors are not used to the Island.
I quite agree with you, it’s not about blaming the govt, it’s saying things that one would think is common sense. It’s time that we realize that we are no longer living in the days of old when we had no visitors, when we had no boats or less vehicles. We have to understand that we are growing and we are marketing our country and we need to do much better than what we are doing. We compliment other people countries on the measures they have taken but we fail to upgrade our image.
I’m deeply saddened by this incident. Very tragic
I”m not sure if the young lady was on the boat or was swimming but some of these boat owners ride to close to shore knowing that there are people in the water and some form of punishment should be past on to boat owners when they hurt someone it is long over due CHARGES ARE NEEDED
How could a propeller hit someone if they are on a boat? Be real.
not only hurt but kill, if it was a minor injury i dont mind, she could be treated one way or another, but when a life is taking due to negli
sorry….negligence
what kind of rasta are you? so deep in u calling babylon pon ure bedren