The family of a 12-year-old girl fatally struck by a personal watercraft in Mission Bay filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit this week that faults the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for allegedly failing to ensure conditions were safe for swimmers, paddleboarders and others.<\/p>\n
Savannah Peterson suffered fatal injuries after she was struck by a Yamaha WaveRunner traveling at high speeds on July 29, 2023, while she was paddleboarding in De Anza Cove.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed Monday in San Diego federal court says that the two federal agencies are responsible for placing and maintaining navigational aids in the bay around De Anza Cove and Fiesta Island. The suit alleges that the areas where motorized watercraft operate should have been clearly separated from areas for swimmers and others by buoys, signage or other demarcations. The lawsuit also claims that additional safety patrols and safety-related signage could have prevented the fatality.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendants failed to manage Mission Bay in a way that ensured the safety of patrons and\/or warn them of the dangerous conditions therein,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n
Representatives for the Coast Guard and Army did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in state court by Peterson\u2019s family remains ongoing. Defendants in that suit include the city and county of San Diego, the San Diego Unified Port District, and online marketplace OfferUp, which was used to rent out the WaveRunner involved in the fatal incident.<\/p>\n