Family Talks About Son Who Fell Overboard

Canfield, OH -- Daniel DiPiero fell overboard a Royal Caribbean cruise liner a couple weeks ago. Now his parents are trying to turn their pain into progress."About my son, it's a hard time,” Susan DiPiero said.“Our only son, and the only one in our family to keep the name running,” Ron DiPiero said.Ron and Susan DiPiero never got to say goodbye to Daniel.“They said we're sorry to inform you we can't locate your son,” Susan DiPiero said. “We kept waiting for someone to say this was a joke. It's unbelievable.”Within hours the family was flown to the Caribbean and on board the Mariner of the Seas, the ship that was supposed to be the dream vacation for their 21-year-old.Daniel had too much to drink his first night aboard. Surveillance video shows him sleeping on the deck."He woke up and was ill and he ran to throw up," Susan DiPiero said. "Looking at the film his upper weight literally pulled him over the rail," Ron DiPiero said.But their grief quickly turned to frustration and anger."The second largest ship in the world and its not safe?" Ron DiPiero asked.These parents are now filled with unanswered questions."My first question was ‘Why don't you guys watch those cameras?’” Ron DiPiero asked.It took almost 24 hours to realize Daniel went overboard. There were no sensors, no safety nets, just an endless amount of water that left little hope for survival."We're going to try our best to see that cruise line standards are changed," Susan DiPiero said. Daniel's biggest fear was drowning. His body was not recovered.His parents say they don't know how they'll get action, but they have been in contact with other families who've lost loved ones on cruises.