Horrific tragedy ensued after wealthy parents let son, 15, take his young friend out on speedboat with no adults on board, lawsuit claims

A horrific tragedy ensued after a wealthy couple allegedly let their 15-year-old son take his friend out on a speedboat with no adults on board.

Anjan and Katherine Tharakan were hosting a party on March 3, when their teenage son, Christian, invited Collin Moorefield to go out on the Tampa Bay waters on their 18-foot boat, the Key West, without any adults, according to a lawsuit filed by Collin's mother, Breck. 

Christian then allegedly drove the boat at a top speed of 43.5mph - and crashed into a dock as he looked down at his phone to change the music, the suit says, per the Sun Herald.

The impact sent both boys flying, and Collin remained underwater until a good Samaritan and a St. Petersburg police officer found him. He was then rushed to a hospital, where he died of blunt force trauma and drowning. 

Breck now claims that the Tharakans should have known Christian, now 16, was 'ill-equipped, inexperienced, or both' to operate the speedboat by himself without supervision or a lookout.

The wrongful death suit also suggests Christian was under the influence while operating the speedboat - and faults the teen's parents for failing to ensure he was sober and that there was no alcohol on the boat before they set off.

It claims Christian was skirting closely past dozens of docks before he finally crashed.

'Distracted and inhibited by alcohol, [Christian] drove the Key West south, narrowly missing a dock before forcefully and violently striking the next dock,' the lawsuit argues, according to the Tampa Bay Times.  

Video surveillance from the crash showed the boat struck the support posts for the dock and ricocheted off another boat that was hoisted on a lift, police said at the time.

The speedboat finally came to a stop about four houses down, and a bystander turned off the motor and tied it up. 

But police never found alcohol on board the boat and Christian did not show any signs of impairment, according to a report from the St. Petersburg Police Department.

The court also issued a subpoena for Christian's medical records in the aftermath of the crash, but his family objected at the time, Pinellas County court records show. 

Christian, who had a boater safety identification card, later admitted he was 'speeding a little' at the time of the crash, and said his phone got disconnected from the speaker, so he looked down to reconnect it.

He told officers he thought he may have knocked against the wheel of the boat, and said that after the crash he began diving into the water trying to find his friend before other bystanders joined in.

Collin was finally located at the bottom of the water near the end of the dock by a neighbor who put on a pair of goggles and jumped in the water, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Moorefields are now suing Christian on one count of negligence, and are suing his parents on one count of negligent entrustment each.

In response, the Tharakans filed their own lawsuit in federal court on Monday trying to limit the amount of damages they may be required to pay to just the value of the boat - about $50,000.

That means the Moorefields will need to prove the parents were directly negligent if they would like to receive more money.

Meanwhile, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's investigation into the deadly crash is ongoing, and neither Christian nor his parents have been charged yet with any wrongdoing.

 The State Attorneys Office told Fox 13 it is in communication with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and 'there is some additional evidence that needs to be gathered, which is common in a case such as this.

'Once that additional evidence is gathered, the prosecutors then review all compiled evidence to make a filing decision.'