ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — A prominent metro attorney died in a terrible accident while vacationing in Florida. It happened on Sunday off the coast of Englewood, Florida, which is on the Gulf of Mexico side of the state.
That’s when investigators say 54-year-old Lee Hollis of Leawood was on a jet ski and ran into a boat, losing part of his leg. He was taken to the hospital to have surgery but passed away earlier on Monday.
Hollis’ son Mark– also on a jet ski– witnessed the crash.
“We were just riding jet skis and my dad took a right turn and the boat hit him,” Mark said, “We were just about to go out to the Gulf of Mexico to ride the jet skis, and then it happened.”
Dee Hawkins with the Charlotte County Fire and EMS in Florida said they received a 911 call around 4:30 Sunday afternoon.
“Any time we have an amputation that warrants a trauma alert,” she said, “And so the chopper was called, but en route to our location that patient experienced cardiac arrest.”
Hollis was taken to a local hospital. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spent hours investigating the accident.
“I used to babysit his kids when I was younger in high school, and just growing up, I played with his kids when I was growing up also,” said Stephen Cowan — who used to work in Mrs. Hollis’ office. He lives across the street from the Hollis family in Leawood. He had only nice things to say about his neighbor.
“Oh really nice, every day you’d see him out there playing with his kids and everything so, he always was spending time with his family which was nice to see,” Cowan said.
He woke up this morning and his parents told him the terrible news.
“I just woke up, and it’s just a shock to wake up to that knowing someone so close was in such a crazy accident,” Cowan added.
According to his law firm’s website, Hollis graduated from the University of Missouri Law School, and worked as a Sprint corporate attorney before launching his practice in 1996. Hollis leaves behind a wife and three boys.
“You’re supposed to be having fun with your family and everything and then something like that happens and totally changes the whole season around,” said Cowan.
Another lawyer at the Hollis law firm who said out of respect for the family they weren’t ready to comment. Services for Lee Hollis are pending.
