According to 13abc.com, a teenager died last week from a jet ski accident. The accident occurred on a Wednesday afternoon in Sandusky Bay near the Edison Bridge in Danbury Township. Another teen was left with minor injuries.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources report stated that a group of teens were jet skiing when their two crafts crashed into each other. The US Coast Guard was a responding agency and they found the teens in question near the shore.
The accident remains under investigation.
Thankfully, all four teens were wearing life jackets. The accident could have been much worse. Most jet skis and many personal water craft are inherently dangerous because they don’t have a true braking mechanism. Faced with a collision, a jet ski operator will cut power to the motor but the watercraft will continue on, sometimes coasting at speed for a hundred feet or more. Worse, no steering is possible in this unpowered state.
InMotion Magazine published an extensive article on PWC dangers. They cited a Federal report that summarized, “When faced with a collision, most victims took their hands off the throttle in an effort to avoid the collision . . . the victims’ steering ability was severely compromised.” Lacking steering, an uncontrolled jet ski can run into any number of objects: a pier, other boaters, and swimmers.
In the case of the accident last week, the 16-year old died after receiving life threatening injuries to his head. This is consistent with a report published in Pediatrics that stated “PWC are the only recreational boats for which the leading cause of death is not drowning; most fatalities result from blunt trauma.”
The entire Fitch Law Firm wishes to convey our deepest sympathies to all those touched by this tragedy. Losing a loved one is a life changing event that will have repercussions for years to come.
The Last Thing You Should Worry About Is How You’re Going To Pay For Your Medical Bills.
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Do you have questions about a boating accident you have been involved in? As an experienced Columbus personal injury lawyer, we are well qualified to assemble the right team of experts and litigators to manage your case.