An 11-year-old Florida girl was horrifically killed after she was thrown overboard and fatally struck by a boat’s propeller while out on Palm Beach County’s Lake Osborne.
Brooke Mejeur was aboard the 20-foot pontoon boat along with two unnamed adults and two unnamed minors when she was accidentally ejected.Â
The boat’s bow suddenly and without warning dropped, sending the young girl into the water, before she was fatally struck by the boat’s propeller in front of the other passengers, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
An 11-year-old girl tragically died while boating on Lake Osborne in Palm Beach County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed. Pictured: Lake Osborne
Brooke Mejeur was aboard the 20-foot pontoon boat along with two unnamed adults and two unnamed minors when she was accidentally ejected. Pictured: Stock image of a 20-foot pontoon boat
According to a preliminary FWC investigation, two adults and three minors were on board a 20-foot pontoon boat when the bow of the vessel dropped suddenly, ejecting the 11-year-old into the water
Mejeur was taken to shore but later died from her injuries.
An investigation into the Sunday incident is ongoing.
‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Brooke Mejeur during this incredibly difficult time,’ FWC said.Â
Others out on the lake that day noticed the patrol boats scouring the late on that fateful day.Â
Local lakeside Floridian, Luke Price, told WPTV that he has ‘been out in the water since he was born’ and has witnessed a handful of boating accidents over the years but nothing as tragic as this.
‘Anything can happen, always take precautions,’ he added.Â
Lake Osborne is a popular destination for recreational boaters, fishermen and nature-lovers.Â
The grim accident comes just days after a Florida real estate developer was hit with a felony homicide charge stemming from a 2022 boat crash that killed a 17-year-old girl and left another disabled. Â
Miami-Dade prosecutors now believe George Pino, 53, committed ‘vessel homicide,’ a crime that could land him prison for up to 15 years if he’s convicted.
On September 4, 2022, Pino was driving a 29-foot Robalo boat with 13 others on board, including his daughter Cecilia Lianne Pino, who was celebrating her birthday.
The majority of the passengers were Cecilia’s teenage friends.
A Florida real estate developer was hit with a felony homicide charge stemming from a 2022 boat crash that killed a 17-year-old girl and left another disabled. Pictured: The vessel capsized and all 14 people onboard ended up in the water
Pino was driving this 29-foot Robalo boat. Pictured: The right side of the vessel was torn open in the crash
Pino eventually struck a channel marker in the Upper Keys near Boca Chita Key, causing the boat to flip upside down and throw everyone overboard, according to prosecutors and officials with the FWC.
Almost everyone was injured, but 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez died and Katerina Puig, who was 18 at the time, was left with debilitating and permanent injuries that will preclude her from living an independent life.
An FWC incident report said authorities found 61 empty alcohol bottles and cans, one empty champagne bottle and a half-empty liquor bottle on the boat, NBC 6 reported.
Despite this, no one admitted to consuming the alcohol and Pino refused to take a breathalyzer test because he didn’t have an attorney present.
A final FWC report released around a year after the crash concluded that Pino showed no signs of impairment, but that he ‘did operate his vessel in a careless manner by violating four navigational rules.’
For instance, he was piloting the boat at 45-47 miles per hour, which was a factor in the crash according to the FWC.
