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Indian national killed in personal watercraft collision with teen off Key West

Key West (Pixabay)

KEY WEST, Fla. – A man visiting South Florida died over the weekend after two personal watercrafts collided with each other off Key West, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A 14-year-old boy from Boca Raton was operating the other personal watercraft, according to an FWC incident report.

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According to the incident report, the crash happened just after 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fury Playground, just north of Wisteria Island.

Authorities identified the victim Monday as Venkataramana Pittala, of Kazipet, Telangana, India.

According to a GoFundMe page, the 27-year-old was a graduate student at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, set to receive his degree in May.

The incident report lists the 14-year-old as uninjured and lists arrests as “pending.”

According to FWC, 14 is the minimum age to operate a personal watercraft in Florida.

The report doesn’t state whether authorities have determined fault. Both personal watercrafts were rented, it states.


About the Author
Chris Gothner headshot

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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