Californian high school soccer star, 16, is killed with her friend, 13, in a horror jet ski crash on popular Illinois vacation lake

A high school football star and her 13-year-old family friend were killed in a tragic jet ski accident when they collided with a boat at high speed.

Sarina Lee Vootkur, 16, piloted the Yamaha WaveRunner with Elle Kim, 13, as a passenger on Lake Marie near Antioch, Illinois, on Tuesday.

They were driving north near the canal to Grass Lake, just north of the Elime Road peninsula, when a 21-foot Sea Ray Cabin Cruiser crossed their path.

Witnesses said the jet ski drove straight towards the boat, whose driver, a 55-year-old local man, was unable to get out of the way.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the girls died from blunt force injuries suffered when the jet ski crashed into the boat around 5:15 p.m.

“Both occupants of the jet ski, who were wearing life jackets, were knocked unconscious and thrown into the water,” she said.

Banek said all four adults on the boat immediately dove into the water and pulled the girls out, then called 911 and desperately tried to save their lives.

One of the girls was taken to shore by the Sea Ray and the other by another passing boat. The jet ski was completely destroyed, police said.

They were rushed to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville but were pronounced dead on arrival.

According to police, the boat had the right of way on the water and the pilot had no chance to avoid the collision.

Sarina was a star player for the Trabuco Hills High School Mustangs in Mission Viejo, California, and had just completed her sophomore year.

“Our hearts are broken… Sarina’s legacy will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew her,” the team said in a statement.

Sarina suffered a right leg injury earlier this year and shared her frustration on TikTok when it took longer than expected to heal.

‘The past three months have been the hardest months I have ever experienced. Everyone tells me I will be stronger after this but all I want to do is play football,” she wrote.

Her boyfriend, football star Jake Cunanan, wrote a heartbreaking tribute that he called “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“I’m shaking and honestly don’t know if this is the best time to type this, but I want Sarina’s legacy to be known and what an incredible person she was,” he wrote.

‘Over the past year I have met one of the most crazy, loving and caring people on this earth.

‘Sarina was the best person and friend you could ever imagine. We shared so many dates and it was the best part of my life.”

Jake wrote that his mother told him that even though he was an introvert, he needed to appear confident so he could make friends — and Sarina was one of the few who could see past that facade.

“She made me feel comfortable and heard like no one else could. Whenever I faced any kind of struggle, she talked me through it,” he wrote.

‘Every date, photo and event with her was a pleasure in the highest degree. She always liked to live in the present.

‘What happened is not right. She had such a bright future.”

Jake started a fundraiser Thursday that he said will pay for her funeral and a “permanent reminder to remember her in the way she deserves.”

He said Sarina enjoyed football, diary writing, filming and editing, and wanted to become an English teacher after leaving school.

Korina, one of Sarina’s close school friends, also wrote an emotional tribute on Instagram alongside a collage of photos of them together.

‘When I first heard it, I thought it was a joke. I so wanted it to be one. I can’t even begin to process what happened,” she wrote.

‘Sarina was one of the truest friends I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was so strong and I admired how she always stuck to what she thought was right.

“She cared so much about people and always listened to what I had to say. She was a great and determined footballer and also incredibly intelligent.

‘She was one of the funniest people I ever met, who had the sweetest smile and brightened everyone’s day. I am so grateful to have spent my freshman and sophomore years with her.

‘I miss you already Sarina. I wish we had more time together. I wish I could hang out with you one last time. Life is so unfair.”

Sarina’s latest Instagram posts showed her having a picnic with another school friend, Amy, as they drew art together.

“I will forever be my #1 picnic buddy, my favorite person to shout Olivia Rodrigo with, and my other little sister,” she wrote.

“Things won’t be the same without you.”

Elle hailed from Long Grove, Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs, and set track records for Mundelein West Oak Middle School.

She was the only child of Marcus and Teresa Kim, whose neighbors rallied to provide meals for them as they mourned.

“Elle was a friend to many of your sons and daughters,” read a post on a local Facebook group that organized the effort.

Sarina was staying at a lake house with Elle and her parents, who are family friends, after traveling there with an adult relative, police said.

Both girls underwent autopsies Thursday to confirm their causes of death and the crash is under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and Illinois Conservation Police.

A man was also rushed to the hospital, Antioch Fire Chief Jon Cokefair said, but it was not clear how he was involved in the crash. No one on the boat was injured.

Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said the jet ski belonged to another friend who also owned the lake house.

Children over the age of 12 can ride a Jet Ski in Illinois, but must complete an eight-hour water safety course to become certified. It was unknown if Sarina did, how much experience she had on a jet ski.