Family demands answers after son of Trump’s CDC chief suffers severe skull injury at Ocean Reef
A Maryland man is in a coma with a severe head injury after falling off a golf cart last month at the exclusive Ocean Reef in North Key Largo.
Daniel Redfield, 38, was so severely injured that part of his skull was removed and, if he lives, his family says he’ll likely be in dependent care for the rest of his days. He is now at a hospital near his hometown of Baltimore.
His family, including his father, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Trump administration, is looking for answers into what happened in the early evening of Jan. 20.
So far, little has been made public other than a preliminary incident report by the Keys sheriff’s office. After a deputy briefly interviewed the two men on the cart, including the driver, the investigation was turned over to the Florida Highway Patrol, said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
Lt. Kathleen McKinney, FHP’s Florida Keys subdistrict commander, said Wednesday that she was looking into “what type of report we may have completed.”
By the time a Keys deputy arrived around 7 p.m. Jan. 20, Redfield had already been airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center in Kendall, and the
Ocean Reef Public Safety security guard allowed the driver, John Avirett, 40, to go back to his room at the resort, the report states.
The deputy said he was delayed getting to Ocean Reef because he and others were on calls.
Avirett eventually came back to give a statement, Deputy Robert Dosh wrote in his report. When he did, the deputy said he could “smell suspected alcohol” on Avirett’s breath.
The other man riding in the cart, Marc Bunting, 54, told Dosh that all three were fishing all day and had been drinking. He said at the time of the accident, Daniel Redfield was sitting in the passenger seat next to Avirett, slumped over and fell out. Visitors at Ocean Reef often traverse the resort grounds on golf carts even when they’re not playing a round.
Avirett’s statement to the sheriff’s office “indicated Mr. Redfield possibly jumped out of the golf cart,” Dosh wrote.
Because Avirett left before the deputy arrived, it would make concluding he was drinking at the time of the accident difficult, Ramsay said.
Ocean Reef security did not immediately respond to an emailed request for a report on the incident. Neither Avirett nor Bunting returned requests for comment.
Robert Redfield III told the Miami Herald that the family is frustrated because few details about that night have been released by authorities, Ocean Reef or the men with his brother. Redfield, a doctor and surgical director of University of Pennsylvania’s living donor kidney program, said he and his father, also a physician and former CDC director, question how Daniel’s injuries are so severe from falling from a golf cart.
Redfield III released the following statement to the Miami Herald:
“Our family is heartbroken. We are praying for a miracle, but my brother Dan may not recover from his injury. We just want answers about what happened. We still are in disbelief that people involved left the scene, especially the driver, wouldn’t talk for so long, and the facts just don’t seem to add up. I’ve been a doctor and a surgeon for over 15 years, and his injuries are inconsistent with the stories we have been told. My brother had half of his skull removed in surgery and has suffered widespread brain injury. It’s extremely difficult to envision a scenario where his injuries would be this severe given the recap of events we have been provided. We are hopeful the resort will be more forthcoming and law enforcement will push for more answers. Dan is not just my brother. He is a son, a father and husband, and a friend to so many. Our family deserves answers.”