A 27-year-old man originally from Telangana, India, was killed when two personal watercraft collided off Key West on Saturday.
Venkataramana Pittala was driving a rented Yamaha personal watercraft (PWC) that collided with another PWC operated by a 14-year-old boy from the South Florida mainland, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
A PWC is a boat commonly referred to as a “Jet Ski” after the brand.
The teen was listed as “uninjured” in the FWC report, which lists arrests as “pending.” Keys Weekly isn’t naming the boy.
Both Pittala and the 14-year-old were driving solo with no passengers, FWC Officer Liam Rodriguez told Keys Weekly.
In Florida, 14 is the minimum age required to operate a PWC. The minor’s 15th birthday is listed in the report as Tuesday, March 12.
The fatal crash happened north of Wisteria Island off Key West at about 12:30 p.m near a floating playground, FWC said.
The FWC released an incident report on Monday with the names of the two people involved but no details on what transpired.
“This is a two vessel (PWC) accident resulting in one fatality,” the report states. “The vessels collided with each other.”
Pittala, originally from the city of Kazipet in the Indian state of Telangana, was a graduate student at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis set to graduate in May, according to the India-based website M9.news.
M9.news reported Pittala’s family is asking for help to cover expenses to have his body transported to India for his final rites. A friend of Pittala’s created a GoFundMe that raised more than $54,000 of a $75,000 goal as of Monday night.
