The 13-year-old girl who crashed with her sister on a personal watercraft in the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday died from blunt force injuries, the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday.
Rachel Aliza Nisanov was a month away from her 14th birthday. She and her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, and their parents, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov and Rebbetzin Ora, were riding on two separate personal watercraft Tuesday afternoon that they had rented while on a family vacation from New York.
Three personal watercraft were operating at the time of the crash “as part of a guided tour,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Arielle Callender said Wednesday. The girls’ vehicle jumped a wake caused by a passing vessel, lost control and hit a concrete dock.
Rachel and Aviva were both taken to Broward Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, where Rachel died.
Rachel’s manner of death has been determined an accident, Thomas Steinkamp, Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office Chief of Investigative Services, said in an email Friday afternoon. The full report is not yet completed.
A spokesperson for Broward Health Medical Center did not immediately have an update Friday afternoon on Aviva’s condition. She was in stable condition as of Wednesday after having surgery, a relative previously told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
At some point before the 3:30 p.m. crash, Fort Lauderdale Police’s Marine Unit were on their way to a separate call and “had contact” with the two girls on the personal watercraft, police department spokesperson Casey Liening said Friday.
Liening said the marine officers saw the watercraft “making a minor violation therefore they briefly stopped the occupants to discuss safety.” There is no documentation of the “brief” and “proactive” interaction, she said. Liening did not provide further information about the violation.
State boating regulations require anyone operating a personal watercraft to be at least 14 years old and at least 18 years old to rent one. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to knowingly allow anyone younger than 14 years old to operate a personal watercraft, according to FWC regulations.
Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, is required by state regulations to have completed a boating education course approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, an equivalent course or temporary certificate examination and have a boating education ID card and photo ID card before operating any vessel with a motor of more than 10 horsepower. Personal watercraft typically have at least 60 horsepower.
The owner of the company who rented the personal watercraft to the family declined to comment when reached by a reporter Thursday. The company does not have any history of lawsuits in Broward County, according to court records.
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