jet ski accident

Published on: April 24, 2025

Arizona Couple Makes National Headlines Following Husbands Jet Ski Death. How Personal Watercrafts are Responsible for Hundreds of Injuries, Deaths Annually.

Just like motorcycles on land, jet skis are the coolest ride on the water; however, with that level of thrill comes serious responsibility.

From improper training from rental companies to inexperienced riders, jet skis and other watercrafts are responsible for over 1,000 deaths in the United States from 2020 to 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Report, which was released on May 16, 2024. A little over 17% of these deaths occurred in July.

A couple in Arizona made national headlines this week after a wife tragically discovered her husband floating in a lake after he fell from a rented jet ski on Sunday at Lake Pleasant. The couple had rented the jet ski at Scorpion Bay, according to reporting from The Miami Herald, and experienced a “mechanical issue.” When they attempted to make a U-turn, they fell into the water.

Published on: December 19, 2024

Tallahassee Woman Dies in Florida Keys While Scuba Diving, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman died Tuesday morning while scuba diving with a commercial scuba vessel in the Florida Keys, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

The 56-year-old woman, identified at Andreas Shultz of Tallahassee, was diving at Molasses Reef off Key Lago. Just before 10 a.m., she was found unconscious in the water and was rushed to shore.

Shultz died enroute to shore while others on the boat performed CPR, according to local reporting.

Published on: November 19, 2024

Police: Human Head on Key Biscayne Belongs to Teen Caught in Rip Current

By Leesfield & Partners

Authorities confirmed over the weekend that the human head that washed ashore on Key Biscayne belonged to a teen who went missing off Miami Beach a week before after being caught in a rip current.

Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, was swimming with his sister off South Pointe Beach on Nov. 9 around 6 p.m. when the two were caught up in a rip current. They yelled for help and passersby were able to rescue Castaneda’s sister, but he seemed to vanish in the water, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. His older sister, Jessica Castaneda, told reporters that her brother pushed their younger sister toward shore in an effort to save her as the pair struggled against the currents.

On Nov. 12, a human head washed up on the beach in front of Oceansound Key Colony II condominium at 251 Crandon Blvd on Key Biscayne. The remains were found by a beach maintenance worker before 8:40 a.m.

Published on: August 15, 2024

Police: “It didn’t look like there was any effort to stop,” in Florida Keys crash that killed two earlier this week

By Leesfield & Partners

A 9-year-old boy and his father, 47, were identified as the two people killed when a personal watercraft crashed earlier this week into a Marathon, Florida, sea wall.

The two crashed on a 2018 Yamaha personal watercraft just before 7 p.m. in a Boot Key Harbor canal near 15th Street Ocean. The father was thrown over the handlebars of the personal watercraft and catapulted nearly 20 feet away onto land, according to reporting from the Keys Weekly. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbors rushed to where the boy had landed in the water to try and help until deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrived. The boy was helicoptered out but went into cardiac arrest while on his way to Miami Children’s Hospital. First responders made an emergency landing at Mariners Hospital in Tavernier where he died.