2 women sue popular South Florida river cruise, claiming they were drugged on board

By Heather Walker, Darcelle Hall

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    Florida (WSVN) — A popular South Florida river cruise is being sued after two women say they were drugged on board. 7’s Heather Walker investigates.

Jungle Queen Riverboats is advertised as “fun for the whole family.”

The cruise includes a tropical island dinner, show and sightseeing in Fort Lauderdale.

Karren Hanson, suing tour boat: “We were there for some, you know, R&R, just to get away and enjoy some, you know, some girl time.”

But they say their girls trip took a turn shortly after they boarded the boat.

Heather Walker: “When did you realize something was wrong?”

Teresa Viscovich, suing tour boat: “Within 15 minutes.”

Longtime friends Teresa and Karren were expecting to have a good time, but after one glass of wine, they say things became foggy.

Teresa Viscovich: “My speech was slurred. I couldn’t walk right.”

They were confused, but one thing was clear.

Teresa Viscovich: “Something is very wrong.”

The next day, they called police.

According to the police report, the women “were concerned that their bartender … drugged their drinks.”

He was texting the women trying to meet up with them after the cruise.

Teresa Viscovich: “The way the bar is set up is, you can’t see anything he’s doing back there.”

Police investigated but found “no video on the cruise and no evidence of who, if anyone, had put anything in their drinks,” and the case was closed, despite the fact that the women had their hair tested, and the results showed they were positive for GHB, which the Drug Enforcement Administration says is known as a date rape drug.

Teresa Viscovich: “I’ve never done drugs a day in my life.”

The women are now suing Jungle Queens Inc. for failing to prevent drugging on a boat.

We went to the Jungle Queen to get a response.

A lawyer for the boat company sent a statement saying in part:

“Jungle Queens has taken the allegations … very seriously. Jungle Queens has worked hard at building a reputation … and the safety of their guests are of the greatest importance. We have conducted a thorough investigation and have concluded there is no evidence to support these baseless and defamatory allegations.”

Adding that after the cruise, the women “stated they had a great time in text message communications with a crew member.”

Jungle Queens Inc. filed motions to dismiss the complaints, saying the allegations were insufficient. But the case is moving forward, and the women continue to recover from that night.

Teresa Viscovich: “My vision doesn’t line up anymore. Now, it’s like this.”

Teresa says memory issues forced her to give up her nursing license.

Teresa Viscovich: “That was a tough one, because the way it goes is, once a nurse, always a nurse. That was a huge piece of my identity, and it’s gone.”

Both women say they suffer from severe anxiety.

Karren Hanson: “I don’t do a lot of social situations that I used to do because they don’t feel safe anymore.”

They still can’t believe one girls trip could change their lives so much.

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