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Information surrounding Victoria Zardoya’s sudden death is coming to light.
One day after Joe Giudicegrieved the death of his daughter Milania Giudice’s childhood best friend, citing a “simple fall,” details of the incident have been shared.
Friend Victoria Silberbusch released a statement she said was “shared at the request of Victoria Zardoya’s family”—and was reposted to Milania Giudice’s Instagram Story—that outlined the deadly accident that took place in Florida on July 24.
Zardoya had traveled to the Tampa area for a weekend to visit friends, but the 20-year-old “sustained fatal injuries due to a devastating fall” while they were exploring the ruins of Fort Dade from the Spanish-American War, according to Silberbusch, who was at the historic Egmont Key site with her.
“What began as a fun, innocent day on the water with both old and new friends,” Silberbusch wrote on Instagram July 26 alongside photos from the day, “ended in an unimaginable and unexpected tragedy.”
While the group—including Zardoya, Silberbusch and at least eight others—was preparing to leave the ruins and head to a different location, Silberbusch noted “everything changed in a matter of seconds” when Zardoya fell onto a set of stairs.
“At first, we thought Victoria had fallen only one level,” she continued. “We ran to the edge, calling out to her, but quickly realized she had fallen much farther than we first believed.”
As part of the group “immediately began climbing down” to get to Zardoya, Silberbusch said that others mobilized by calling 911 while other friends located on a nearby boat “launched flares to help first responders locate us as quickly as possible.”
“We stayed with Victoria and held her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible while we waited for first responders to arrive,” Silberbusch added. “Paramedics responded by boat, and a medical helicopter was eventually able to transport her to the hospital after an incredibly difficult rescue.”
Victoria Zardoya/Instagram
Amid the tragic incident, Silberbusch emphasized that Zardoya was “surrounded by people who cared, people who fought for her, and people who refused to give up hope” and that “every person there did everything within their power to help her.”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, Fla., confirmed to E! News in a July 27 statement that their Marine Unit “arrived at Egmont Key on July 24, 2026 at 6:08 p.m. after receiving reports that someone had fallen from one of the structures.” While authorities didn’t confirm the victim’s identity, they said she was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
She died two days later on July 26, according to Silberbusch, who added, “There are experiences that divide your life into a before and an after. This was one of them.”
Following Zardoya’s unexpected death, Silberbusch asked for everyone to support her family and emphasized the importance of cherishing life.
“If this tragedy reminds us of anything, I hope it’s this: life is unimaginably precious,” she concluded. “Hold the people you love a little tighter. Say the things you’ve been meaning to say. None of us know how many ordinary moments we have left.”
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