Best friend of Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Milania Giudice dies after fall from Egmont Key structure
UTampa student dies after Egmont Key fall
A woman has died days after she was flown to a hospital following a fall from a structure on Egmont Key, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - A 20-year-old University of Tampa student has died days after she was flown to a hospital following a fall from a structure on Egmont Key, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Egmont Key deadly fall investigation
What we know:
According to HCSO, the incident happened on Friday, shortly after 6 p.m. HCSO’s Marine Unit responded to Egmont Key after receiving reports that a person had fallen from one of the island's structures. Zardoya remained hospitalized and died Monday, HCSO said.
The woman, identified as Victoria Zardoya, was flown to a nearby hospital in critical condition after the fall.
What they're saying:
A friend, Victoria Silberbusch, who was there when the incident happened, wrote on social media that she was sharing her account of what happened at the request of Zardoya’s family. Silberbusch said they initially thought Zardoya only fell one level, but quickly realized she’d fallen much farther and fell onto stairs.
She said it started as a fun day on the water when then, the unimaginable happened. Silberbusch recalled that everyone jumped into action.
"No one hesitated," Silberbusch wrote in the post. "Every single person responded instinctively. Everyone did everything they possibly could to help. Her injuries from the fall were brutal."
She said some of the friends launched flares from the boat to help first responders find them, while others stayed with Zardoya trying to "make her as comfortable as possible while we waited for first responders to arrive."
"If this tragedy reminds us of anything, I hope it’s this: life is unimaginably precious. Hold the people you love a little tighter. Say the things you’ve been meaning to say. None of us know how many ordinary moments we have left," Silberbusch said.
Other friends said on social media Zardoya was the most beautiful soul, and lived life to the fullest.
Real Housewives of New Jersey connection
Dig deeper:
Zardoya is also the childhood best friend of Milania Giudice, the daughter of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice. Milania also attends The University of Tampa.
Incident details
What we don't know:
No additional details about the circumstances surrounding the fall have been released.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.