A joyous trip turned tragic for a family visiting Florida when a watercraft accident resulted in the death of a 14-year-old girl and left her 16-year-old sister critically injured.
Local NBC station WTVJ reported that the sisters crashed their watercraft into a dock in Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal Waterway at about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The incident claimed the life of 14-year-old Rachel Nisanov. Her older sister, Aviva Nisanov, who was driving the watercraft, was rushed to the hospital.
“They were returning to the dock when they lost control and struck it,” shared their brother, Yonah Nisanov, with WTVJ. “Both were thrown and collided with the dock.”
Yonah said that his father, who was also on a personal watercraft, jumped into the water to try to save the girls.
“My dad, despite not knowing how to swim, jumped in after them. Both sisters were unconscious but had life jackets on. He injured himself while trying to rescue them; thankfully, he managed to save one, but sadly, the other didn’t survive,” Yonah explained.
Yonah said his family was visiting from New York and had surprised Rachel with a trip to Florida during her graduation dinner.
The news station reported that their father, Shlomo Nisanov, is a well-known rabbi in New York.
He added, “While we can’t grasp why this happened, we trust it was meant to be. We believe God will grant us the strength to keep moving forward and fortify our spirits.”
The family plans to fly Rachel’s body back to New York, and then she will be buried in Israel, WTVJ reported.
The crash remains under investigation.
