In a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed this week, the family of a 12-year-old girl who was killed by a jet ski in Mission Bay blames the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard for allegedly neglecting to make sure the environment was safe for swimmers, paddleboarders, and others.
On July 29, 2023, Savannah Peterson was paddleboarding at De Anza Cove when she was hit by a jet ski going at high speeds, resulting in her death.
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According to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in a federal court in San Diego, buoys, signage, or other demarcations should have been used to clearly distinguish areas used by jet skis and other watercraft from areas used by swimmers and other people. The complaint also asserts that the death may have been avoided with more safety patrols and signs pertaining to safety.
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“The defendants failed to manage Mission Bay in a way that ensured the safety of patrons and/or warn them of the dangerous conditions therein,” according to the complaint.
Peterson’s family is still pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in state court. The San Diego Unified Port District, the city and county of San Diego, and the internet marketplace OfferUp—which rented out the jet ski involved in the deadly incident—are also defendants in that lawsuit.
Arsanyous Refat Ghaly, the jet ski operator, was charged with a crime by local prosecutors and is also mentioned as a defendant in the state case. Ghaly was given 230 days in prison and probation after entering a guilty plea to vehicular manslaughter with gross carelessness.
Data taken from the jet ski showed that it was moving between 47 and 53 mph at the time of the crash, according to testimony given by a police officer at a preliminary hearing in Ghaly’s criminal case. The crash happened in an area where watercraft operators are required to maintain speeds below 5 mph, according to the prosecution.
