A Quebec City family saw a tropical vacation turn into a nightmare last week, after the boat they were on was rammed by a speedboat in Puerto Rico.
To make matters worse, they say they waited long hours before finally being rescued and brought to a local hospital.
Last Tuesday evening, six members of the McCann family took part in a night tour of Isla Magueyes, a bioluminescent island off the southern coast of the U.S. island territory. Just minutes after the tour began, at around 9:45 p.m., a motorboat, travelling at full speed, rammed into their boat, which had 22 people on board.
The impact of the crash was so severe that the family's patriarch suffered several lacerations and skull fractures from two propellers that apparently flew off the speedboat, while his wife suffered a severe concussion and a dislocated shoulder.
Their 17-year-old granddaughter also suffered lacerations and bruises, and told Radio-Canada that she's lucky to be alive. The teen's mother, Julie McCann, escaped with minor injuries.
As bad as those injuries were, family members say it took at least two hours before they were spotted by rescuers.
Julie McCann told the Journal de Montréal her 63-year-old father Claude suffered no less than five deep cuts to his head and shoulder, and says even after his rescue and the severity of his injuries, he was forced to wait 35 hours before he could be seen by someone who would clean his wounds, let alone treat them.
At the hospital, she says, he was placed in a filthy corridor with criminals in handcuffs, prostitutes and drunks.
He remains in hospital in Puerto Rico on the advice of doctors back home, who worry the plane trip would be too risky for Claude.
The family is now considering legal action against the speedboat driver and the group which organized the trip.
The U.S. Coast Guard is now investigating the crash.