20-year-old tourist killed in Jet Ski accident on Hilton Head, official says
A 20-year-old tourist visiting Hilton Head Island died after a Jet Ski crash in the area of Mackay Creek on Tuesday afternoon, according to deputy coroner David Ott.
Ott said Ciara Eiriz, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the boat dock.
Eiriz was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and in the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, according to her social media pages.
Two Jet Skis were involved in the collision, S.C. Department of Natural Resources spokesperson David Lucas said. The person on the second Jet Ski was not injured, officials say.
Ott said that both Jet Skis involved were rentals.
The Bluffton Township Fire District was dispatched to the area around 12:40 p.m. for a “head injury in the water,” spokesperson Capt. Lee Levesque said. Law enforcement agencies and first responders were on the scene at Hilton Head Harbor for several hours.
A helicopter landed at the CC Haigh Jr. boat landing, between the Hilton Head Island bridges, later Tuesday afternoon, but it did not transport anyone.
SCDNR is the lead investigating agency.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, he said.
In South Carolina, boaters 16 years of age and older may operate any recreational boat or personal watercraft without a specific boating license.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that one person was airlifted from the scene, according to SCDNR spokesperson David Lucas. Lucas later said that information was in error and no one was airlifted, but a helicopter had been dispatched to the scene.
This story is developing and will be updated when more information becomes available.
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 2:24 PM with the headline "20-year-old tourist killed in Jet Ski accident on Hilton Head, official says."
