As Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch suspends filming after Aleutian Lady deckhand Todd Meadows‘ death at age 25, his mom recently revealed that it wasn’t his first accident on the boat.
Following Todd’s death on Feb. 25, while he was crab fishing on the Bering Sea, his mother Angela Meadows noted that her son suffered another concussion aboard the vessel several weeks ago, and he was placed on temporary medical leave.
Angela told TMZ that Todd hit his head at the time and a doctor checked him out, per protocol. After the doctor confirmed he suffered a concussion, Todd was flown home to Washington so he could recover. He eagerly returned to work weeks later, after being medically cleared.
“The last photo I got of him was when he was building a fire,” Angela told the outlet. “He was listening to music in the moment and was so happy. That’s how I want to remember him.”
Meadows was working on the Aleutian Lady, one of the vessels filmed for the long-running show, when he died on February 25, although details of the nature of his death were unclear at the time. The Coast Guard is currently investigating.
Todd Meadows
Safety on the Aleutian Lady has been a source of unscripted drama on Deadliest Catch before, sparking Sean Dwyer’s departure from the vessel before he was set to co-captain a trip.
Deadline understands that Deadliest Catch was in production on Season 22 when the incident occurred and the Aleutian Lady, led by Rick Shelford and his crew, was one of the vessels that was being captured for the show. We hear that production has subsequently concluded; the show was at the end of its production cycle when the accident occurred, with The Aleutian Lady being the last of the Season 22 vessels still at sea.