A Florida CEO was killed in a hit-and-run boat crash in front of his teenage son when an estimated 30-foot vessel plowed into their small dinghy during an evening ride south of Miami on Wednesday.
Davide Veglia, the founder and president of South Florida-based ABTS Convention Services, was fatally struck by the larger boat while out in Biscayne Bay at around 8:11 p.m., NBC 6 South Florida reported.
Veglia’s 14-year-old son was hospitalized with a broken arm.
A multi-motor vessel suspected in the fatal hit-and-run was seen cruising away moments after the collision, according to surveillance photos released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“The vessel involved has not yet been identified and is described as possibly a 20 to 30 foot boat with possibly two outboard motors and is described as possibly a dark blue boat with black bottom paint,” said FWC Officer George Reynaud said at a press conference Thursday.
The father-son duo was on their 7-foot dinghy in a channel off Miami Beach when the larger boat struck them, ejecting the two into the waters.
Two teenage witnesses in the area recalled hearing agonizing pleas for help coming from Veglia’s son.
“We hear ‘Help, help!’ That’s when I run to the dock, and I see like a silhouette or like a shadow of something, and we make it out and [say], ‘That’s someone, they need help, they need help,’” Samuel Londoño told WSVN.
“We instantly called the cops, let them know everything. I yelled for him to float before the cops came, and he floated. He was, like, floating there with his dad, holding him,” Enzo Avelino said. “The dad was unconscious when they got him and brought him back.”
Both Veglia and his son were taken to a local hospital, where the businessman was pronounced dead.
The suspected boat was last seen traveling north from Biscayne Bay between 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., the outlet reported.
Police have not identified the operator of the boat and no arrests have been made.
Veglia’s best friend Joao Moraes paid tribute to the fallen executive after the tragedy.
“I can’t stand God took this man, too young,” Moraes told NBC 6. “I lost my best friend.”
“Davide, my friend, the best friend, I miss in my life, great passion with soccer, with everything,” Moraes said, revealing the two had spoken earlier in the day and planned to have lunch on Friday.
“I’m in shock. I sat down all day and cried because I lost the best person in my life,” Moraes added.
Veglia founded the medical communications firm in 1995 while he was a 25-year-old international student.
The company has offices in Miami, San Francisco, Rome and Belgrade, according to his LinkedIn page.
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