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Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
A teen girl dies on personal watercraft in Lauderdale. What does Florida law say?
The teenage girl who crashed the personal watercraft she was operating into a concrete dock in Fort Lauderdale's Intracoastal Waterway on Tuesday — which killed her younger sister — was legally permitted to operate it under Florida law. To operate a personal watercraft, a person must be at least 14 years old, but 18 years old to rent the vessel, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state law-enforcement agency investigating the crash. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to knowingly allow a person under 14 to operate a personal watercraft. Completing an education course is also required. Aviva Bracha Nisanov, who was steering the watercraft, was 16. Her younger sister, 13-year-old Rachel Aliza Nisanov, was riding in tandem behind her and killed in the accident. The girls were on a family vacation to celebrate Rachel's eighth-grade graduation. The family was staying at the Marriott in Fort Lauderdale and decided to take a guided personal watercraft tour. The parents of the girls are Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov and Rebbitzin Ora Nisanov, who are prominent in Queens, New York's Bukharian Jewish community. READ MORE: New York rabbi tries to save daughters in Lauderdale watercraft crash. One dies Aviva was particularly excited to ride the watercraft (known as Jet Skis) and had taken a course prior, said her older brother Yonah Nisanov, 30. As the operator of the watercraft, Aviva would have had to have a boating education ID card and a photo identification card with her. Esteban Granados, the owner of Prime Watersports based in Fort Lauderdale, told Local 10 that his company had rented out the watercraft to the family on Tuesday. He added that the girls had completed an online boater safety course hosted on his company's website. The website links back to a Florida Boating Temporary Certificate—valid for up to 90 days with a $9.99 price tag. 'It was their first time,' Granados told the station. 'That's why I was stressing all the safety instructions to them.' Granados declined comment to the Herald when reached on Thursday. The online exam consists of 25 questions and 19 or more of the 25 questions must be answered correctly to pass the exam, according to the FWC. The study guides and courses can consist of short videos and infographics—though some experts say that this is not enough training. 'Absolutely positively—those videos—any video is not enough,' said Jack Hickey, a veteran Miami maritime trial attorney. 'It is good to watch those videos. It's informational, but in order to train somebody you have to go through certain things right first.' In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the FWC said three personal watercraft were operating in the Intracoastal Waterway on Tuesday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale 'as part of a guided tour. ' One of the watercraft, occupied by the two sisters, 'jumped the wake of a passing vessel, lost control, and collided with a concrete dock.' READ MORE: Sisters in Fort Lauderdale personal watercraft crash were on a guided tour: FWC Hickey gave three reasons as to why personal watercraft can be 'very dangerous.' They're really fast. 'Their acceleration is like an electric car,' Hickey said. The speed of a watercraft depends on the model and its engines, with entry-level craft reaching 40 to 50 mph and mid-range models averaging from 50 to 70 mph, according to Riva Motorsports Miami, a personal watercraft dealer. High-performance models can reach up to 80 mph. They don't have brakes. ' People don't understand that and they have to be trained,' Hickey said. 'You have to be trained repeatedly.' They won't turn without throttle. This is counterintuitive, said Hickey. If you're heading toward something, your natural instinct is to let off the gas and turn — but with personal watercraft, that doesn't work, he said. They have no rudder; steering depends entirely on jet propulsion, Hickey explained. If you cut the throttle, you lose steering. To turn away from an obstacle, you must keep some power on. 'The rental company is legally obligated to train the operator,' Hickey said. 'It takes five minutes to train somebody on how to start it and how to go, but it takes an hour or more to train them on how to slow down, how to stop…' 'Absolutely, the tour rental company—under Florida law—if they did not properly train and instruct .... they absolutely can be held liable,' Hickey said. According to Broward County court records, neither Prime Watersports, nor its owner, Esteban Grenados has been sued. The Florida Division of Corporations shows Prime Watersports began operations in October 2023. The business did file a petition for limitation for liability in federal court related to a Sept. 11, 2024, crash involving one of its rental pontoon boats, which hit another vessel near New River in Fort Lauderdale, records show. In that case, which was filed in May and is pending, Prime Watersports' attorneys are seeking to limit the monetary damages from the crash to $10,400, which they say was the value of the pontoon boat at the time of the crash. Such petitions are common in maritime law after boat accidents. Each person operating, riding, or being towed behind a personal watercraft must wear an approved 'non-inflatable wearable personal flotation device,' according to the FWC. These are inherently buoyant vests—most typically filled with foam—that provide flotation as soon as they're worn. No inflation is required. Inflatable ones are prohibited for personal watercraft use. Normally, the person operating a watercraft is given a chord attached to the engine cutoff switch, which the operator must attach to their clothing or their vest, according to the FWC. Yonah Nisanov, standing outside of Broward Medical Center Wednesday where Aviva remained in critical condition in the ICU, said that his father was riding on a seperate vessel with the girls' mother. He jumped into the water to try and rescue his daughters. Yonah described how the girls were floating unconscious in the water, their life jackets keeping them afloat, as their father—who does not know how to swim—scraped up his hands, feet and back trying to save them. 'Maneuvering a personal watercraft by weaving through congested vessel traffic, jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably close or when visibility around the vessel is obstructed, or swerving at the last possible moment to avoid collision is classified as reckless operation of a vessel,' according to the FWC. It is a first-degree misdemeanor to do so. Personal watercraft cannot be operated from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, even with navigation lights. 'This is yet another tragedy on the water due to your lack of instruction and training,' Hickey said.
New York Post
5 days ago
- General
- New York Post
New York teen tragically killed in Florida watercraft crash during graduation trip
A New York teen was killed after the watercraft her sister was driving crashed against the docks during a graduation trip in Florida — with her heartbroken father jumping into the water to desperately try to save them both. Rachel Aliza Nisanov, 14, was celebrating her eight-grade graduation with a family getaway to Fort Lauderdale when she boarded a personal watercraft with her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, NBC 4 reported. 'They were coming back to the dock from what I understand, and they lost control and they hit the dock, and they both went flying and hit the dock,' their brother, Yonah, recalled. Advertisement 3 Rachel Aliza Nisanov was just 14 years old. Family Photo Their father, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, of Queen's Bukharian Jewish community, was nearby on his own watercraft when he saw his girls fall into the water. 'My father doesn't even know how to swim,' Yonah told the local outlet. 'He jumped in. My sisters were unconscious. Advertisement 'Their life jackets were on, they were lying flat and my father jumped in and scraped up his hands, feet, his back all over to save them. He did what he could,' the brother added. 3 Nisanov and her sister crashed into the dock after they lost control of the vessel, their brother said. NBC The sisters were rushed to the Broward Health Medical Center, where Rachel had succumbed to her injuries. Aviva was listed in critical condition and had undergone surgery late Tuesday night. She remained sedated on Wednesday, Yonah said. Advertisement The grieving brother described Rachel as a kind person who was 'always going the extra mile' for others. He said Rachel was the one most excited about getting on the boat. 3 Aviva was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday night. NBC Rachel's body was flown back to New York, with her funeral being held Wednesday night at the Bukharian Jewish Community Center, in Forest Hills. Following the service, her body will be flown to Israel for a traditional burial in Jerusalem the following day, the center said. Advertisement Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. The agency noted that at the time of the crash, three personal watercraft were operating in the Intracoastal Waterway 'as part of a guided tour.' During the tour, the sisters 'jumped the wake of a passing vessel, lost control, and collided with a concrete dock,' the FWC said during its preliminary findings Tuesday evening.
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Sisters in Fort Lauderdale personal watercraft crash were on a guided tour: FWC
The personal watercraft crash that killed a 13-year-old girl and seriously injured her sister in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday happened during a guided tour, according to investigators. Rachel Aliza Nisanov, 13, and Aviva Bracha Nisanov, 16, were riding tandem on a personal watercraft in the Intracoastal Waterway near the 2800 block of Northeast 24th Court in Fort Lauderdale when they smashed into a concrete dock around 3:30 p.m., according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state police agency investigating the accident. The girls jumped the wake of a passing vessel and lost control of their watercraft and hit the dock, Arielle Callender, an FWC spokeswoman, said Wednesday. READ MORE: New York rabbi tries to save daughters in Lauderdale watercraft crash. One dies Paramedics rushed the girls to Broward Medical Center, where Rachel died Tuesday night, Callender said. Aviva remained in critical condition in the ICU, a spokesperson for the Medical Center said Wednesday. Two other personal watercraft participated in the tour, Callender said. The FWC did not release the name of the tour company. Both girls are the daughters of Rabbi Schlomo Nisanov and Rebbitzin Ora Nisanov of Queens, New York. Rabbi Nisanov heads the Bukharian Jewish synagogue, Kehliat Sephardim of Ahavat Achim, which runs a popular food pantry that distributes kosher food to all communities in the city, according to social media posts. Ora Nisanov's biography on the website for Bat Melech community center, where she works, says Rachel and Aviva are two of the Nisanovs' eight children. Both girls attended Bnos Malka Academy, an all-girls yeshiva in Forest Hills about two and a half miles from the family's Kew Gardens Hill home. Rachel had just graduated from the eighth grade and her parents took her and her sister on a surprise vacation trip to South Florida. Miami Herald staff writers David J. Neal, Isabel Rodriguez, Milena Malaver and Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.
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Miami Herald
6 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Girls in Fort Lauderdale watercraft tragedy are prominent New York rabbi's kids
The teenage girl killed and the girl seriously injured in Tuesday's Fort Lauderdale personal watercraft crash are daughters of a rabbi and rebbitzin prominent in Queens, New York's Bukharian Jewish community, according to social media posts and online databases. Tuesday night posts from Instagram account bukhariancommunity identified the 14-year-old girl killed as Rachel Aliza Nisanov and her 16-year-old sister as Aviva Bracha Nisanov, daughters of Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov and Rebbitzin Ora Nisanov. Authorities have not released the names of the girls. Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov heads the Bukharian Jewish synagogue Kehliat Sephardim of Ahavat Achim, which runs a popular food pantry that distributes kosher food to all communities. Ora Nisanov's biography on the website for Bat Melech community center, where she works, , says Rachel and Aviva are two of the Nisanovs' eight children. Both girls attended Bnos Malka Academy, an all-girls yeshiva in Forest Hills about two and a half miles from the family's Kew Gardens Hill home and where their parents were honored in 2023 at the school's annual dinner. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue's Frank Guzman, Rachel and Aviva were riding tandem on a personal watercraft on the Intracoastal Waterway near the 2800 block of Northeast 24th Court in Fort Lauderdale when they smashed into a dock around 3:30 p.m. Paramedics rushed the sisters to Broward Medical Center, where Rachel died Tuesday evening, said Arielle Callender, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Her sister Aviva is in critical condition in the ICU, a spokesperson for Broward Medical said Wednesday. FWC is leading the crash investigation. The crash comes just two weeks and a day after a barge struck a sailboat with Miami Yacht Club summer campers. Two girls died within hours, and a third girl died two days later at Jackson Memorial Hospital. READ MORE: A third child in the Biscayne Bay barge-sailboat crash has died, yacht club says
