Arizona mother amputates six-year-old daughter’s leg and kills her while boating on Lake Pleasant
- The schoolgirl had been on her family’s boat with several adults on July 28
- Authorities say her parents “lost track” of who was in the water
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona speaks of a ‘tragic accident’
A six-year-old girl died after her leg was amputated by the propeller of a boat her mother was riding on Lake Pleasant in Arizona.
The schoolgirl suffered an amputated leg in the accident and was rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water in Peoria, Arizona.
Authorities confirmed she was pronounced dead at the medical center, and a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman called it a “tragic accident.”
A group of 12 people from two families were swimming and wakeboarding on their boat from about 7am.
The entire group of six adults and six children, all wearing life jackets, were on the same boat when the incident happened.
Authorities confirmed that a six-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the medical center, and a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman called it a “tragic accident”
A group of 12 people from two families were swimming and wakeboarding on their boat from about 7am
At around 11 a.m., the child’s mother drove near Paul’s Hideaway, with police confirming that no one realized the girl was still in the water.
Her mother began speeding to pull another relative who was wakeboarding, and the schoolgirl was run over by the boat.
The child’s father was in the water holding on to a wakeboard when he saw someone in the water and swam towards the child.
Sergeant Joaquin Enriquez said: “He and the mother soon realized that their daughter was in the water and had suffered a leg amputation from the boat’s propeller.
Witnesses at the scene confirmed that the child’s mother was operating the boat when she started driving and that, unbeknownst to the family, the child had somehow ended up in the water.
“There is currently no impairment test. We have investigators who have started checking for signs; although it is an ongoing investigation, we do not see any signs of impairment at this time.
Her mother began speeding to pull another family member who was wakeboarding, and the schoolgirl was run over by the boat.
“We are going to call this a tragic accident. Contributing factors that may have led to this incident are many people on the boat.
“Detectives are at the boat and are examining the boat and looking at security measures that may or may not have been in place.
“But it looks like things that need to be on the boat are on the boat. No one comes out here expecting tragedy.”
The boat’s owners were described by police as “experienced skippers,” adding that they “may have lost track of who was on the boat” because they were “swimming and wakeboarding in different locations.”
Deputies and firefighters from the Peoria Fire Department responded to an 911 call after fellow boatmen brought the child to the dock after poor cell service initially prevented them from reaching emergency services.