It doesn’t matter what generation you come from, kids — especially teens — often think they are invincible. The vigor of youth hasn’t tarnished the reality that nothing lasts forever, and oftentimes our well-intentioned warnings are dismissed. Unfortunately for two teens riding a jet ski in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they didn’t heed a wise warning early enough.
The Daily Mail reported that Rachel Aliza Nisanov, 13, was riding a jet ski with her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, when they lost control of the vehicle and it slammed into a concrete dock. The tragic accident claimed Rachel’s life just moments after officers from the Marine Unit engaged with them about water safety protocols, according to WSVN News.
Both teens were sent to Broward Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Aviva was in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery, according to CBS News, and has since been released from the hospital.
The officers reported spotting the girls on the way to a call and stopped them after they accidentally committed a minor violation, which they described as “brief and proactive in nature.” Because the officers encountered them by chance, no body camera footage or reports of the minor infraction were filed.
“I want to make sure we get to the bottom of this,” the sisters’ father, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, told WPLG Local 10 News, explaining they were on a surprise trip for Rachel’s eighth-grade graduation. “It’s very troubling. I didn’t come to Florida to bury my daughter. I came to Florida to have a good time with her and now I have to take her back in a casket,” he said through tears. “It’s not the way I imagined my vacation.”
As the teens rode along the Intracoastal Waterway, the jet ski suddenly veered out of control and violently slammed into the dock ahead, launching the girls into the air before slamming into the structure. The dad dove in after them as he was on a separate jet ski with an instructor.
There is an investigation underway by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to determine exactly what caused the watercraft to veer.
