Teen killed by jet ski at Bass Lake identified

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Madera County Sheriff's Office said he was a 13-year-old boy named David Florez. He and a 16-year-old girl were hit by a jet ski on Saturday at Bass Lake. Investigators are looking into whether the jet ski driver was being reckless.

The 16-year-old girl is in a coma. She suffered head trauma in the crash and she is listed in critical condition -- hanging on to life after getting hit by a jet ski at Bass Lake. The impact killed her nephew, David Florez. He was just 13-years-old.

Lieutenant Bill Ward is with the Madera County Sheriff's Office.

"Alcohol does not appear to be a factor, but we are going to be doing more follow up interviews, and talking to different witnesses," said Bill Ward, Madera County Sheriff's Office.

Lieutenant ward says originally there was some conflicting information as to whether the victims were on an inner tube or in the water. It took a couple of days to straighten it all out with witnesses. "The children as well as the boy's father were being pulled behind the boat in an inner tube when they were struck."

He says prior to impact, the inner tube was moving slowly and the jet ski was speeding through the lake. "He was a good distance off and the next thing they knew, he was right on top of them."

The man was not arrested, but he could be facing criminal charges at some point. Lieutenant Ward says it's hard to say how fast the jet ski was going, but speed definitely played a role in the crash. He says now, detectives are trying to figure out if the man was being reckless on the water.

"If he was doing something extremely reckless, things like that could go to a manslaughter case versus just an accident," said Ward.

If you would like to help, there have been two accounts set up:
Hospital Funds for Julissa and Funeral Funds for David