The mother of Todd Meadows has spoken out in the wake of his death, asking that the film crew do one thing to honour his death.
Meadows, one of the 'new members' of the Deadliest Catch crew, is believed to have died as a result of him 'falling overboard' while recording for the reality TV series.
The 25-year-old died 'doing what he loved', according to a GoFundMe set up to help his family.
Captain Rick Shelford shared the tragic news on Monday (2 March), posting a lengthy tribute on Facebook to confirm that the deckhand had died on 25 February.
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Meadows was working on the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady for the long-running show’s 22nd series, fishing for crabs on the Bering Sea.
It's believed that he fell overboard just after 5pm local time in Alaska, with the US Coast Guard Arctic District saying that they are 'currently investigating this situation'.
Now though, the late crew member's mother has spoken to TMZ about what she hopes the film crew will do now her son is gone.
Angela Meadows revealed that he was actually only back at work for a few weeks before the accident, as he was on medical leave after getting hit in the head around a month ago while on the ship.
He was made to fly back to Washington to recover, with that trip being the last time he saw his family.
As for his passing, it's said that Deadliest Catch cameras were rolling when he fell off the vessel, but Angela hopes that the footage never sees the light of day.
Speaking to the publication, she explained: "We don’t want to see any footage from the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death. We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat."
The mum said that the family even requested footage of Todd crabbing, so they could watch him do what he loved most, and 'have the videos for memories'.
"We don’t want to put the blame on anyone, but someone has to take responsibility. We will have justice for Todd," Angela said, as she was told he did not suffer in his final moments.
While the family are hoping for the best, they 'want answers' when it comes to Meadows' passing.
Meadows was cleared by a doctor to return to work after spending time at home, as he was looking forward to doing his passion.
The family did not blame the TV production for the concussion, with it not clear if the concussion or the profuction are tied to his death.
Speaking to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard Arctic District said: “Coast Guard watchstanders at the Arctic District command centre in Juneau received notification from the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady, reporting that a crew member by the name of Todd Meadows fell overboard approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor.”
They detailed that the deckhand was recovered 'unresponsive' by the ship's crew around 10 minutes after this, adding: “First aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful, and the crew transported the deceased to Dutch Harbor.”
The statement continued: “As the nation’s leading marine safety organization, the Coast Guard investigates marine casualties and accidents to uncover their causes and initiate necessary corrective actions.”
Captain Shelford said Meadows had ‘quickly became family’ to the crew, in an emotional Facebook message.
You can donate to the GoFundMe, here.
Topics: Fishing, TV and Film
Joshua Nair