SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – One year later, a heartbroken widow is on a mission.

Last November, we spoke with Lorrie Votrian, whose 32nd wedding anniversary in the Turks and Caicos Islands turned into a nightmare during a snorkeling trip, resulting in the death of her husband.

Now, we move on to look at a just-filed lawsuit and its hopes for industry-wide change.

“My plan was to be with him forever,” Lorrie said.

For Lorrie Votrian, the past year has been one of heartbreak and disbelief.

“It’s been difficult, sorry,” Lorrie said through tears.

The difficult period began with a beautiful day. The video shows the couple on a snorkeling excursion, bound for a reef off the Turks and Caicos Islands, east of Cuba. A few minutes later, the catamaran dropped anchor. Lorrie says one of the two crew members told her husband he could get a head start since he brought his own equipment. She says a few minutes later, a tourist pointed out a person in the water, face down and motionless. It was her husband.

“I started screaming his name, screaming,” said Lorrie in 2023 interview.

It was Lorrie talking to me a year ago. She says another tourist intervened and picked up her husband before performing CPR and teaching other tourists so they could help him.

She said it would be about 25 minutes before they returned to land and received medical attention. Votrian would die in hospital. An autopsy confirmed the healthy Votrian’s cause of death was drowning.

Lorrie says she and her husband, a master diver, were preparing to renew their vows on their 32nd wedding anniversary.

“When someone that close to you dies, your whole life is gone too,” Lorrie said. “I believe his life could have been saved.”

Last week, Lorrie filed a lawsuit against the Turks and Caicos-based travel company.

According to the complaint, no crew member noticed that Votrian was in distress, the boat had no medical equipment such as a defibrillator and no crew member was trained in CPR.

“It’s frustrating, really frustrating,” Lorrie said.

Lorrie’s attorney, Jessica Anderson, says safety standards aren’t usually a priority for tourists on snorkeling and other excursions, but they should be.

“Call and ask questions. Asking about training, asking about medical equipment…A lot of times it’s better to go to a larger complex, which probably has more policies that they follow,” Lorrie said.

Lorrie says “what if” questions are never far from her mind. She hopes her lawsuit will lead to industry-wide change when it comes to safety.

“I hope something comes out of this tragedy to help other tourists and other people,” Lorrie said.