A woman and a young girl who were injured over the weekend in separate jet ski accidents have each been upgraded to satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Rebecca Oropeza, 48, of Lynnwood was injured about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Flowing Lake when her jet ski and one driven by a Snohomish boy, 13, collided in the southwest corner of the lake, located east of Snohomish.
As they were both maneuvering around the lake, Oropeza’s craft appeared to turn right; the boy then accelerated to go straight, Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Rochon said Tuesday. According to witnesses, Oropeza’s craft then turned left and the two collided.
The occupants of a boat pulled Oropeza from the water and took her to a dock, where they assisted her until an aid crew arrived. The crew then took Oropeza to the county park, where she was airlifted to Harborview.
The boy was uninjured. Oropeza suffered a dislocated shoulder; lacerations to several internal organs, two broken vertebrae, three broken ribs, head and neck injuries and internal bleeding. She remains in the intensive care unit, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said.
In a separate accident, a 10-year-old girl was one of three riders on a jet ski about 5 p.m. Sunday at Lake Goodwin in Lakewood when she fell off, Rochon said. The operator of the craft didn’t know immediately that the girl had fallen off. Her arm became entangled in a rope in the foot well of the craft and was severed at the elbow when the rope pulled tight.
The girl also was airlifted to Harborview. Her name has not been released under federal privacy laws.
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate both cases.
A third jet ski accident resulted in the death Saturday of a Snohomish man.
The man was identified Tuesday as Edward Ferguson, 45. Everett police investigators believe Ferguson was on a jet ski when he ran into something in the darkness and died in the Snohomish River near Lowell.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy Tuesday and determined Ferguson died of blunt injuries to his head and said his death was accidental.
A friend found his body on the river in the Lowell-Snohomish Road area.
That case also remains under investigation.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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