FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – The calls for help have been released, weeks after two sisters on a personal watercraft crashed into a dock on the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale, killing one of them and injuring the other.
Fort Lauderdale Police said 13-year-old Rachel Nisanov died when the personal watercraft she was riding with her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, struck a concrete dock near Northeast 24th Court in the Intracoastal Waterway on Aug. 12.
Moments after the incident, eyewitnesses called 911 to report the crash.
“This is a wave acc– what exactly happened ma’am? Tell me exactly what happened,” said the 911 operator.
“I don’t know. I just drove past it. It’s a two person wave runner accident. Jet Ski. They’re being held by someone that was in a tree. I just pulled up, it looks like it capsized,” said the woman.
“OK, stay on the phone with me, OK? I’m sending rescue now,” said the 911 operator.
Soon after, another person called as he watched from his apartment across the waterway.
“They’re in the Intracoastal Waterway. If you’re sending vehicles there, you’re gonna have to access them by Bayview Drive,” said the man.
“Are they still on the water?” said the 911 operator.
“Yeah, there’s a couple of jet skis helping them out, but I’m in the building across the way so I can’t really see the person, but they hit really, really hard,” he said.
Officials said the family was on vacation from New York when the tragic incident occurred.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Aviva is still recovering from her injuries at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
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