Following a tragic incident on the Florida Intracoastal Waterway, Fort Lauderdale police have confirmed that a brief safety stop was conducted with two teenage sisters who were later involved in a fatal personal watercraft crash. Local 10 News reported that 13-year-old Rochel Nisanov died from injuries sustained when the jet ski she was riding with her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, collided with a concrete dock. The incident happened on a Tuesday afternoon near the 2900 block of Northeast 24th Court.
The police interaction with the girls was described as "brief" and "proactive in nature," focusing on the minor violation to abruptly discuss safety measures with the young riders. The officers involved were en route to another incident, therefore no written report or body camera footage exists of the stop, as noted by WSVN News. Moments later, the girls reportedly jumped the wake of a passing boat before losing control and slamming into the dock.
Rochel's father, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, grievingly stated, "I didn’t come to Florida to bury my daughter," a sentiment he expressed while speaking to Local 10 News. Underscoring the anguish of the moment, he continued, "I came to Florida to have a good time with her and now I have to take her back in a casket. It’s not the way I imagined my vacation." Following the incident, Aviva awoke in the hospital to devastating news, asking, "Where is my sister?" as family members relayed to Local 10 News.
Further complicating this heart-rending story is the detail that the family had never operated personal watercrafts before this vacation. Esteban Granados, the owner of Prime Watersports, who rented the vessels to the Nisanovs, told Local 10 News, "It was their first time. That's why I was stressing all the safety instructions to them."
