FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Devastated family members have identified the two victims of a personal watercraft accident on the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale that claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl and sent her 16-year-old sister to the hospital.
Rachel Nisanov died when the personal watercraft she was on with her sister Aviva hit a concrete dock near Northeast 24th Court on Tuesday afternoon.
According to a medical examiner she died due to blunt force injuries sustained in the crash.
As of Thursday morning, Aviva remains in critical condition at Broward Health Medical Center, according to the family.
The family said the two sisters were enjoying the water during a vacation in South Florida when tragedy struck.
Wednesday night, at a funeral was held for Rachel in New York, her father Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, said the family’s life has been turned upside down by just a few moments out on the water.
“You have no idea how everything turned upside down,” he said.
Cameras inside Bukharian Jewish Community Center in Queens captured the father surrounded by grieving family members and friends.
Her father described the constant stream of phone calls he’s received from friends around the world.
A rabbi asked a crowd of hundreds who came to mourn Rachel: “Why this child?”
Rachel’s brothers told the crowd how the 13-year-old lived for the present and how they wish they could have just one more minute with their youngest sister.
Meantime, friends of the family said they will remember Rachel’s radiant smile.
Moments following the accident on Tuesday afternoon, neighbors quickly knew something horrible had occurred when they saw paramedics arriving to the dock.
“I saw one of the girls being taken in a stretcher. I didn’t know it was a young girl at the time, but my heart still broke,” said area resident Renée Beninate.
Rachel’s body was being flown from New York to Israel late Wednesday night to be buried Thursday.
The incident remains under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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