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Surprise Proposal Turns Into a Nightmare as Woman Drowns to Death After Saving Daughter in Devastating Boating Accident

Tasha Turner told the little girl "I love you" and handed her to a passerby before being pulled under.

A California woman was killed moments after heroically saving the life of her daughter during a tragic boating accident. 

During a weekend vacation that was meant for laughter and love, Tasha Turner, 30, drowned after being entangled in a rope that was connected to the sinking boat. Turner was one of seven people on the boating trip, which took place on Saturday evening near Big River Park, according to Deputy William Poe.

At some point during the trip, Turner, boat operator Umberto Bagnara of Beaumont and five other passengers departed from the launch ramp at Big River Park to go tubing. Then the boat "lost power and became swamped and started to sink," Poe told NBC News.

Bagnara and five other passengers were able to swim away. However, Turner was tangled in a rope attached to the vessel and she was unable to free herself.  

"The boat was so heavy, I believe it got tied up around her and pulled her in," Turner’s boyfriend, Norris Salah, told NBC.

That’s when Turner handed her unidentified daughter to a passing jet-skier.

"Before her mom threw her, she gave her a hug and said, 'I love you. Goodbye,'" the victim’s sister, Myesha Turner, said of Tasha’s final act.

Turner's body was found by dive teams around 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Tasha’s death not only devastated her family, but it shattered her boyfriend Norris, who had a ring in his pocket and was ready to propose to her on the water.

"I love you very much. I love you," Norris said of his late girlfriend while fighting back tears.

The operator of the boat is cooperating with the investigation. Investigators are looking into if there were too many people aboard the boat.

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