1992

1995

FULL UNTOLD STORY BEHIND BOATING TRAGEDY

GLORIA ESTEFAN CRADLED BLOODY FAN IN HER ARMS AND PRAYED:

PLEASE GOD DON’T DIE

An anguished Gloria Estefan cradled a dying student in her arms after he had smashed his jet ski into her boat in a horrifying accident.

The distraught singer desperately tried to comfort fatally injured Howard Clark
– vividly remembering her own brush with death five years ago in a near-fatal bus accident.

"Please God, don’t die!" she begged the injured man.

Minutes earlier, Gloria, 38, had desperately called 911 on her cellular phone after the collision just off a Miami beach. Her husband, Emilio, had been piloting Gloria’s 33-ft. motorboat when the jet ski smashed into it.

STAR has obtained a transcript of the call, which included these dramatic exchanges:

Gloria Estefan: "We need the Coast Guard right away! We hit a man on a waterbike!"

Dispatcher: "Calm down. I need to know exactly where so we can get a boat."

Estefan: "He’s in the water! He’s been hit! Please ..."

Dispatcher: "Okay, just calm down. Just stay on the phone. Do not hang up, OK?"

Estefan: "I’m trying to turn on my marine radio."

Dispatcher: "I know you’re trying to turn on your marine radio. We’re coming... Your getting hysterical is not going to help the man. I’m going to stay on the phone with you; you tell me when you see the Coast Guard."

At another point, Emilio can be heard yelling in the background: "Gloria, Gloria! Where’s the Coast Guard?"

"The Coast Guard is coming," she tells him. "They’re coming. They’re on their way."

But it was too late. The accident left Clark – a 29-year-old Howard University student – with a gaping head and chest wounds, caused by the propellers on Estefan’s twin-engine Intrepid boat. He died before he reached the hospital. A woman passenger on the jet ski survived with minor injuries.

"There was absolutely nothing we could do to avoid it happening," says Gloria. "We are deeply saddened."

STAR has learned that the singer has been "completely distraught" ever since the tragedy, frequently breaking into tears.

A close family friend, Mauricio Zeiler, entertainment editor of the Spanish language TV channel Universion, said he visited with the Estefans just hours after the accident.

"There were a few close friends and family members – it was a very somber gathering," he said.

"Gloria frequently broke into tears. She said it was so tragic, because she always insists that they never travel fast in their boat. She and Emilio were going for a pleasant afternoon boat ride when this happened.

"Gloria told me: ‘The most difficult thing I have ever had to do was pick up that phone and call Mr. Clark’s mother to say how sorry we were. The Clark family was very appreciative of our call – saying only they were stunned by the awful accident.’ "

The Sept. 24 tragedy unfolded off trendy South Beach, less than two miles from the luxury home where Gloria and manager-husband Emilio live with their two children, Nayib, 15, and 10-month-old Emily.

Gloria and Emilio were enjoying a sunny day on the water when Clark and Tisha Greene, 22, a fellow student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., started to jump the boat’s wake on their rented machine.

Officials believe the students then realized the husband-and-wife celebrities were on board and tried to get a closer look. Clark, who was steering the $65-an-hour Yamaha Waverunner, drove in front of the Estefans, turned and came back along the left side of the boat. He suddenly veered, hitting the craft amidships.

The jet ski was tossed into the air, miraculously flinging Greene clear. But Clark fell under the Estefans’ boat and was sucked into the dual propellers. Emilio immediately leapt into the bloodied water and swam to the aid of the mortally injured law student. He pulled Clark’s head clear of the water, holding him for several minutes before managing to hoist him onto the boat.

"I don’t know what happened. He just came directly toward me," says Emilio, 43. "These people who drive these water bicycles like to go against the waves and they just go so fast they lose control."

"I was going real slow – about 12 mph – because there was a lot of traffic out there," he adds.

"When we got him out the water, he was still breathing and he had a pulse. I felt his wounds in the water. There were cuts on his forehead, his face and his chest."

"It is the sort of horrifying thing that no one can expect," he adds. "Having been in a life-threatening accident ourselves, we are deeply sadened. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families involved."

Marine patrol officers say the Estefans cooperated fully with their investigation, and went straight to the police station from their boat after the accident.

Emilio even insisted on having a blood alcohol test taken to prove he was totally sober when the accident occurred. The only bottles on board their boat contained water, say cops.

Capt. Mike Lamphear of the Florida Marine Patrol says: "Both Mr. And Mrs. Estefan are absolutely devastated. Mrs. Estefan is very, very upset. She is doing the best she can do to handle a terribly serious situation."

"The guy on the Waverunner was jumping waves, which is very dangerous," adds Lamphear. "When you do it 200 ft. behind a boat it is usually not a problem, but if it is closer, it can be.

"From everything we have seen, it appears that the Estefans were not at fault. The accident was caused by operator error caused by inexperience."

Greene suffered minor injuries and was held in the South Shore Hospital in Miami Beach overnight.

Dawn Becerra, who rented the jet ski to Clark, closed her beach business for a week after the accident and flew a huge American flag at halfstaff.

"I feel so bad," she tells STAR. "I have cried for the boy’s family. I have a daughter and if anything happened to her, I wouldn’t want to go on."

Clark, a second-year law student at Howard, was active in student policts and unsuccessfully campaigned for the graduate seat on the university’s board of trustees. He loved baseball and earlier this year, successfully obtained a $50,000 corporate grant to refurbish a public field near the university.

1995

gloria Estefan

This elegant songbird always looks fabulous and perfectly put together, but don’t ask Gloria Estefan to shop. That’s hubby Emilio Estefan’s pleasure. “Some gene in me makes me hate trying on clothes. Emilio knows my body and my taste and loves to shop for me when he’s traveling. I’m blessed,” she says.

The Cuban-born superstar’s busy schedule allows her little free time, but she makes sure to exercise regularly to keep her size seven figure. Estefan, 38, is calmed by the ocean and delights in spending time with her family – son Nayib, 16, and daughter Emily Marie, born four years afer Gloria’s near-fatal bus accident. Gloria gave birth to Emily on Dec. 6, 1994, despite two 8-in. steel rods in her back. While pregnant she still worked out every day.

1996

My recipe for a happy marriage

Gloria Estefan and hubby Emilio follow five sure-fire rules to keep their 20-year marriage happy.

Unconditional love: When Gloria was almost crippled in a 1990 bus crash, Emilio was by her side through months of excruciating pain. “He was there for me 100.000 percent,” says the 41-year-old Cuban-born songbird.

Sex: Have it often.

Gifts: Unexpected presents help to keep romance fresh and vibrant.

Respect: “We never insult one another, no matter what, no matter how bad the argument is,” Gloria esplains.

No Stereotypes: “Emilio is not a male chauvinist – he’s open-minded,” says Gloria. “I knew from day one that I wanted to be with him,” says Gloria. “It has been an incredible marriage.”

1999

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