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Vacationer killed in boating accident

A pleasure craft hits a fishing boat; a woman on board the latter dies the next day.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published January 31, 2006

A retired librarian on vacation from New Jersey died last week after a 56-foot pleasure boat hit the commercial fishing boat she was on, authorities said.

The Coast Guard responded to the accident about 10 a.m. Jan. 24, said Petty Officer Danielle DeMarino, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

The collision, which remains under investigation, involved the commercial fishing boat Lazy Bones and the Sea Ray pleasure boat Almost There.

Three people were aboard the 31-foot Lazy Bones, which was anchored 10 miles west of Anclote Key, DeMarino said. Five people were aboard the Almost There.

By the time the Coast Guard arrived, DeMarino said, the Lazy Bones had sunk, and its passengers were aboard the Almost There. There was bad weather at the time, DeMarino said.

Theresa Mazzola, 67, of Basking Ridge, N.J., was on the Lazy Bones with her husband of 44 years, Vincent Mazzola, said Mary Lu Leveroni, whose stepson is married to Mazzola's daughter.

DeMarino said that Theresa Mazzola complained of back pain. She was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

Mazzola suffered many internal injuries and broken bones, Leveroni said. Mazzola died Wednesday.

Authorities did not say Monday who owned or operated either vessel, and efforts Monday to reach the captains and owners of the boats were unsuccessful.

On the day of the crash, the Coast Guard responded and called in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about eight hours later, said wildlife commission spokesman Gary Morse.

The wildlife commission is investigating the incident, and Morse said Monday he doesn't expect further information to be released before Friday.

Mazzola was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She graduated from St. Joseph's College for Women in Brooklyn and earned a master of arts in library science from Long Island University.

In 1998, she retired from the Jericho school district, where she was a librarian. She left Long Island in 2002 for New Jersey.

Mazzola was an avid reader and excellent cook, but her main passion was her family, relatives said.

Mazzola has five grandchildren. She is survived by two daughters, Lisa Mazzola and Laura Leveroni, and her husband, David Leveroni. Mazzola is also survived by her son, Michael Mazzola, and his wife, Tina.

--Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Tamara El-Khoury can be reached at tel-khoury@sptimes.com or 727 445-4181.

[Last modified January 31, 2006, 00:31:05]