Student vacation in Bahamas takes turn for worse, injures two
Editor's note: This story incorrectly referred to Bimini Bay as an island of the Bahamas. It is a resort.
What began as a dream vacation to the Bahamas quickly turned into a nightmare for Gabriella Serraiocco and her cousin, Marina Mancini.
Serraiocco, a Detroit sophomore, and Mancini, a high school student from Clinton Township, left for the Bahamas on July 30th.
Less than 24 hours into the vacation, the two were in trouble.
Mancini invited Serraiocco to go with her and her family to their annual lobster fishing trip in the Bahamas. The two took Mancini’s family’s private plane and stayed at a marina where two yachts were stationed.
The two were returning from a party on a golf cart when they decided to prevent some littering.
Serraiocco’s cousin on a different golf cart drove recklessly and broke off a piece of his cart. Serraiocco and Mancini stopped to retrieve the broken piece while the others drove on.
Several Bahamians stopped them, begged for money and began harassing the girls.
“At this point we had alcohol in our systems and were scared out of our minds," Serraiocco said. "We finally jumped back onto the golf carts with hopes of just getting back to the marina safely and away from these people."
Mancini’s cousin was driving the golf cart carrying Serraiocco and Mancini, and as they were speeding away, they came upon a sharp curve. The driver braked and turned right at the same time. The golf cart flipped onto Serraiocco’s side and dragged the two girls through cement, gravel, asphalt and other debris. When the vehicle finally came to a stop, the girls were trapped.
“We tried to lift the golf cart off of ourselves, but we could not do it,” Mancini said. “(Serraiocco) was screaming. I was in shock and I did not feel anything wrong with my legs.”
Soon, help was on the way and Serraiocco was freed from under the golf cart, but the damage had been done. Both suffered numerous injuries and burns to their legs and bodies.
“I noticed a deep hole in my left ankle and couldn’t help but touch it for reality's sake," Serraiocco said. "My legs were soaked with blood from the thigh down."
The girls were taken by yacht four hours across the ocean to Miami. From there, they took the family’s jet to Boca, Fl., for medical attention. When Serraiocco’s mother, Maria, saw the injuries her daughter had received, she was in utter disbelief.
“I could not believe my eyes when I first saw the injuries, however, I worked in the medical field for 14 years and was thankful that she still had legs,” Serraiocco’s mother said.
Both said they have been nursed back to health, but still struggle with day-to-day activities, like walking, moving and even yawning.
“It hurts to just have my legs bent at a 90-degree angle or even when I yawned,” Serraiocco said. “It's crazy how much we take for granted until something life-threatening happens.”
