Parents of Florida teen caught throwing trash into Atlantic Ocean to apologize

US News

By Christina Coulter, Fox News

The family of one of two teenagers facing crimes for dumping drums of trash into the Atlantic Ocean during Florida’s annual Boca Bash has issued an apology after their son turned to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Now-viral drone footage shows the teens lifting two trash cans filled with bottles and other plastics over the railing of their fishing boat as they speed away from collecting water on April 28 .

As the partygoers’ boat drifted away through the choppy waters of Boca Raton Creek, video showed the spread of debris left floating in their wake.

Footage taken from the front of the boat shows the teenagers waving and laughing.

The two teens, ages 15 and 16, according to the Miami Herald, turned themselves in to police Friday and face third-degree felony charges for causing pollution “in a manner that harms or impairs health.” or to human well-being, animal, plant or aquatic life or pollution.” property.”

On Monday, one of the boy’s parents emailed a statement to the Palm Beach Post through a spokesperson.

“We take the responsibility to care for our oceans and our community very seriously, and we are extremely saddened by what happened this past weekend at Boca Bash,” the family wrote.

“We would like to offer our sincere apologies to everyone who was affected and rightly upset by what happened.”

Before charges were announced against the teens, the FWC reported that while there were no major accidents or incidents resulting from the Boca Bash, they made 20 arrests related to the gathering, including 17 for boating. pleasure boating under the influence.

However, none of those arrested sparked the outrage inspired by YouTuber Wavy Boats’ video capture of the waste dumping incident.

“This has become a global story,” FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said during Wednesday’s commission meeting, according to the Palm Beach Post.

“This weekend my phone blew up. Hopefully this will be a huge teaching moment for all of them.

About 6,000 to 10,000 partygoers gather in their boats on Lake Boca Raton for the boozy event on the last Sunday in April each year.

Photos and videos on social media show mixed participants dancing, jumping from boat to boat in bikinis and sipping beers.