Shark-bitten Palm Beach County prosecutor grateful for rescuers at beach

By Jeremy Ashton
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
Posted March 13 2007

Hutchinson Island – Adam McMichael looked down at his mangled right forearm Sunday and wondered if he was going to lose part of the limb a shark had just bitten.

On Monday, McMichael still had both of his arms, and he credits the quick thinking of a group of strangers for making that possible.

“I’m very fortunate, and I owe it to all the guys who helped me,” he said in a phone interview from his home in Boynton Beach.

McMichael, 29, a prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office in West Palm Beach, was recovering a day after a brush with a shark he never saw while surfing off Tiger Shores Beach in Stuart.

He underwent two hours of surgery at Martin Memorial Medical Center for the deep cuts he suffered in the attack. Doctors told him he would likely lose some of the nerves on the top of his right hand, but he should recover the full range of motion.

McMichael, an avid surfer for more than 15 years, said he was in the water preparing to push off the ocean floor to surface when the shark swam underneath him and grabbed his arm.

He never got a look at his attacker in the murky water, but he could feel its broad nose and estimated it to be 3 to 4 feet long.

McMichael repeatedly hit the shark to fend it off. When he surfaced, his first thought was to get out of the water as quickly as possible and find his wife, he said.

“I didn’t really think the shark would hit me again, but when I looked down in the water, there was blood everywhere,” he said.

As he paddled back toward the beach, which had no lifeguards, McMichael saw a wave of people responding to his calls for help.

Another surfer swam out to meet McMichael and guided him back to shore. Two off-duty paramedics elevated his arm and held the main artery to slow his bleeding. Another bystander had a medical kit in his car and dressed the wound before Martin County Fire-Rescue workers arrived at the scene mere minutes after the attack.

“Everyone at the beach helped me out,” McMichael said. “It was amazing. I question whether it would be like that anywhere else.”

McMichael expects to be apprehensive about surfing again once his wounds heal. But he plans to get back in the water at some point because he said he doesn’t want to let the fear get the better of him.

“I was just in the wrong place,” he said. “You never think it will happen to you. I don’t think it will happen twice, so I’ve got that going for me.”

Jeremy Ashton can be reached at jeremy.ashton@scripps.com.

Palm Beach County prosecutor survives shark attack while surfing

Man escapes with deep cuts on forearm

By Jeremy Ashton
Stuart News
Posted March 12 2007

Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel

HUTCHINSON ISLAND – A Palm Beach County prosecutor cried for help and struggled in the water Sunday after getting attacked by a shark while surfing on Tiger Shores Beach.

Adam McMichael, of Boynton Beach, suffered deep cuts on his right forearm by an unknown species of shark and was taken to Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart, witnesses said.

Late Sunday, the assistant state attorney was undergoing surgery to save tissue in his shoulder, said Michael Edmondson, spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office. There was a sensation in his fingers indicating no immediate sign of paralysis, he said.

Several witnesses said they heard McMichael screaming for help from the water around 1 p.m.

Kaye Cross, a Massachusetts resident on vacation in Florida, looked in McMichael’s direction from her spot on the beach and could see “big, long deep slices” on his arm and “a trail of blood.”

“Nobody could quite process it at first,” said Marni Sawyer, Cross’ friend from New Hampshire.

As McMichael paddled back to shore, Cross and Sawyer estimated at least 10 people ran toward the water to help him.

Among that group was Jensen Beach resident Craig Price, who was enjoying a day at the beach with his family when he heard someone yell “Shark!”

One of the other people rushed to retrieve a medical kit, cleaned McMichael’s wound and applied a tourniquet. Price and another person then elevated McMichael’s arm to slow the flow of blood, Price said.

During the brief wait for Martin County Fire-Rescue workers to arrive, McMichael, who never lost consciousness, told Price he “just felt a tug” and never saw the shark. McMichael also said he thought he had lost his arm, Price said.

McMichael and his wife, Amber, an attorney based in Coral Springs, are avid surfers who often come to Stuart’s beaches on weekends, McMichael told Price.

“He’s a fine young man. He’s well-recognized and well-liked,” Edmondson said.

Click here to watch video.

Judge Upholds Bond For Driver In Crash

Saying she was concerned about flight risk as well as the safety of the community, a judge on Thursday refused to lower bond for a 20- year-old man accused in the death of one of his best friends during a high-speed crash three months ago.

Letters from Joshua Braswell’s mother in Texas and other supporters, as well as court testimony from a handful of friends of both Braswell and victim Joseph Nannariello, did not convince Circuit Judge Lucy Chernow Brown that Braswell would make all of his future court appearances if released from jail.

Braswell, charged with vehicular homicide in the Oct. 30 crash on U.S. 441 west of Boynton Beach, is being held on $75,000 bond. He was driving at least 90 mph in a 1988 Honda CRX when he slammed into a semitrailer truck that had just made a U-turn, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. There were 250 feet of skid marks on the road at the scene of the crash and 4 feet of crush damage to the car, investigators said.

Assistant Public Defender Shawnee Lawrence said the $75,000 bond is tantamount to no bond, given that his family has very little money. She was requesting a lower bond so that Braswell can make an income. Nannariello, 19, was Braswell’s friend, Lawrence said.

“He, of course, would never want anything to happen to his best friend,” Lawrence said. “This is a horrible and unfortunate accident.”

Carolann Nannariello of Royal Palm Beach, Joseph’s mother, told Brown she repeatedly warned her son — in front of Braswell — about the dangers of driving irresponsibly.

“My son didn’t want to die that night,” said Nannariello, who goes to the cemetery several times a day. “I don’t feel [Braswell] deserves to be on any less bond. I feel he should pay for what he’s done.”

In opposing the motion, Assistant State Attorney Adam McMichael said Braswell, of Greenacres, has no family ties in Florida.

He also said Braswell has a “horrendous” driving record, including a reckless-driving conviction and several other citations within a one-year time frame.

Palm Beach County has lost too many teens in traffic crashes, Brown said prior to denying the motion. “This is someone who has not been responsible in his driving,” she said.

Braswell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.

Street Racing Suspected In Fatal Crash On U.S. 441

Street racing may have ended the life of a 19-year-old Monday night on the popular open drag-racing stretch of U.S. 441, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The driver, Joshua Braswell, 20, of Greenacres, was charged Thursday with vehicular homicide in the death of his passenger, Joseph Nannariello, of Royal Palm Beach, troopers said.

Braswell showed up in court Friday in a wheelchair. He is being held on $75,000 bond in the county jail’s hospital with head injuries. His family lives in Texas and he may be a flight risk, according to the police report.

FHP Lt. Tim Frith said there were several modified cars at the crash scene and Braswell’s 1988 Honda CRX had a low-rider appearance. Evidence showed the car was going southbound at least 90 mph in a 50 mph zone west of Boynton Beach when a semitrailer truck made a U-turn from the northbound lane about 10 p.m. at 80th Street South. Braswell crashed into the back of the truck, troopers said.

He had his license reinstated Thursday after having it suspended Oct. 9 for failure to pay traffic fines, records show.

There were 250 feet of skid marks from Braswell’s attempt to brake and 4 feet of crush damage to the car, investigators said.

Nannariello died at the scene.

In a two-week blitz in September, the Sheriff’s Office, state troopers and police from Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth made eight arrests for street racing and issued more than 202 citations, mostly along U.S. 441, for speeding and other infractions.

Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561- 243-6531.

Area Deaths

Nannariello, Joseph A., 19, of Royal Palm Beach, died Monday. Palms West Funeral Home, Royal Palm Beach. Funeral Mass Saturday.

Passenger killed when car crashes into turning truck

PALM BEACH COUNTY

A 19-year-old passenger not wearing his seatbelt was killed Monday night when the Honda he was riding in crashed into a semitrailer truck making a U-turn on State Road 7 at 80th Street South west of Boynton Beach, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Joseph Nannariello, of Royal Palm Beach, was killed.

The driver of the car, Joshua Braswell, 20, also of Royal Palm Beach, was taken to Delray Medical Center with serious injuries, FHP said. He had his license reinstated Thursday after having it suspended Oct. 9 for failure to pay traffic fines, records show.

Charges are pending against him, FHP said.

The truck driven by Samuel Grevais, 48, was making a U-turn from northbound S.R. 7 into the southbound lanes about 10 p.m. Monday when Braswell began to brake but crashed into the back of the truck, FHP said.

In Traffic – Metro Report

A 19-year-old Royal Palm Beach man died Monday night after the car he was riding in collided with a semi truck on State Road 7 and 80th Street South west of Boynton Beach, authorities said. Shortly after 10 p.m., the semi, driven by Samuel Gervais, made a U-turn to go south on State Road 7, pulling out in front of a Honda CRX, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Honda struck the rear of the semi’s trailer. Gervais, 48, of Deerfield Beach, was not injured. Joseph Anthony Nannariello, who was a passenger in the Honda, was killed. The Honda’s driver, Joshua David Braswell, 20, of West Palm Beach suffered serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital. Neither Nannariello nor Braswell was wearing seat belts, authorities said.