MIAMI – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating after a woman was killed when her personal watercraft collided with another personal watercraft near the Venetian Marina in Miami Sunday evening.
According to the FWC, it happened shortly after 6 p.m. out on the water by the Venetian Islands near Pace Picnic Island.
Miami Fire Rescue crews met their marine crew counterparts at the marina where they rushed Renisha Smith, 26, of West Palm Beach, and her passenger, Martez K. Bell, 28, of Tennessee, to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Authorities said Bell suffered serious injuries to one of his legs.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Ms. Smith during this difficult time,” the FWC said in a statement Wednesday.
Lorenzo Dieguez, who was in the area at the time of the crash, told Local 10 News that he has seen many boating accidents near the marina and said it happens far too often.
“It happens a lot near the island in the area and the victims are far too young,” he said in Spanish.
Dieguez said he not only works at the Venetian Marina, but lives there on his boat.
Dieguez told Local 10 News that he didn’t see the crash but did observe rescue boats rushing across Biscayne Bay and heading toward the marina Sunday night — something he says is also common with incidents on the water.
Dieguez said that jet skis aren’t allowed at the marina where he works but a number of people do rent them out, sometimes illegally.
He believes that there’s too much traffic in those waters for jet skis which is why locals are starting to see more authorities patrolling the area.
Local 10 News reached out to the FWC, asking who owned the personal watercraft, if they were rented legally, and if there was alcohol involved at the time of the crash.
All of it, we’re told, is under current investigation.