Two girls died Tuesday evening after the personal watercraft they were riding collided with a boat on an Illinois lake.
One of the girls, the 16-year-old driver of the vehicle, was a resident of Lake Forest in Orange County, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois law enforcement agency investigating the crash.
According to Sheriff’s officials, the two girls were riding a Yamaha WaveRunner on Lake Marie near Antioch Township, a town located in Illinois, about 70 miles north of Chicago.
The 16-year-old and her passenger, a 13-year-old girl from Long Grove, Illinois, were riding at high speeds when their watercraft collided with a speed boat driven by a 55-year-old Illinois man. Witnesses told authorities that the personal watercraft was traveling directly in the direction of the boat, which was unable to avoid the collision.
Both girls were thrown into the water and knocked unconscious, officials said. They were both wearing life vests which allowed for the occupants of the boat to pull them from the water and provide first aid until they were able to take them to shore.
The girls were taken to a nearby hospital and were pronounced deceased after they arrived, sheriff’s officials said. No other injuries were reported in the crash.
The crash is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and Illinois Conservation Police and an autopsy was scheduled to take place Thursday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a post to social media that it “extends its condolences to the families of the girls and others involved in this tragic boat crash.”