Boating Accident Causes Death of Woman in Pensacola Florida
A woman was killed in a boating accident while riding in a boat on the waters of Perdido Bay, a waterway that divides northern Florida from Alabama. Witnesses said that Michal Elboim, 24 years of age, was thrown into the water when the boat she was riding in suddenly jerked. Her head struck the boat's propeller as she fell. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
Ms. Elboim is originally from Israel and had served for the past year in the Pensacola Jewish community as a Jewish Agency emissary and was planning to return to Israel in the coming weeks to begin studying at Ben-Gurion University, according to family members.
The family was notified of the death overnight Sunday, and officials from the local community, the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Consulate in Miami were working to fly her body back to Israel for burial.
This tragedy underscores the need for proper boating safety in the state of Florida. As a long-time resident and practicing injury attorney in Florida I have been participating in water sports for over 25 years and have seen far too many tragedies like this. Even though some of these tragedies can't be avoided (and I do not if this particular accident was preventable) many of them could be avoided if the operator and occupants of the boat had taken proper safety precautions.
If you or any of your loved ones are going to participate in water sports including scuba diving, jet skiing or boating I strongly urge you to enroll in the appropriate safety course for that activity and take all the recommended safety precautions prior to engaging in the activity. Many of these courses are offered at your local community college or government recreation facility and are either free or come with very little cost. I know this to be true because my own father teaches a boating safety course in Sebastian, Florida and the class is free for everyone. Plus he really enjoys sharing his boating knowledge with people who want to learn.
By getting proper training and taking the necessary precautions hopefully we can minimize or even eliminate boating accidents like this one.
