Woman dies riding personal watercraft on Tahoe

By Kathryn Reed

A mother and daughter riding personal watercraft on Lake Tahoe collided Wednesday resulting in one death.

Dawn Finn, 52, of Westwood, N.J., died upon impact July 24, according to officials.

The two women were on individual rented personal watercraft at 1:50pm about 200 hundred yards from Incline Beach when the accident occurred.

The 21-year-old daughter was not injured in the accident. Both women were wearing life jackets. Many family members were on the beach and saw the vessels collide.

“This was a traumatic injury,” Ed Lyngar, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, told Lake Tahoe News.

In Nevada, the law is to take the length of a boat and times it by five to know how many feet away the boats should be from each other. If a personal watercraft is 10-feet-long, then it should be no closer than 50 feet from the next boat.

“They were a little too close together. We are not exactly sure what happened. At some point they collided,” Lyngar said. “We have taken possession of the two watercraft. We are looking at them trying to reconstruct what was happening.”

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor. Lyngar said it’s possible a citation could be issued for not keeping the proper distance or recklessness.

“The best way to stay safe is to take a boating education class even if you rent for the day. The more you know, the safer you will be,” Lyngar said.