Cruise Ship Law

Investigators are piecing together a parasailing accident that left one teenager dead and seriously injured her older sister.

A parasailing accident has killed one teen and left her older sister seriously injured, and now authorities are trying to figure out what happened and if the boat driver could have done anything to prevent the accident.

Careless boating, equipment failure and bad weather all might have contributed to the horrific crash Saturday in Pompano Beach that killed Amber White, one week shy of her 16th birthday, according to a preliminary incident report released Monday by the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Amber died Monday at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, the same day her sister Crystal, 17, was released from North Broward Medical Center.

BSO and the U.S. Coast Guard are trying to figure out what caused the rope to snap and if mechanical failure and driver error were involved. The results of that investigation will determine whether the driver, Scott Kipp of Island Waves Parasailing, is cited for careless operating.

An employee who answered the phone Monday at Pompano Beach Watersports said Kipp and the company's owners, Christopher Boone and Anthony Aiello, declined to comment.

Amber White, who had spent most of Monday in critical condition, was declared brain-dead the day before.

Crystal White was released from the hospital at noon Monday in time to join the family at Broward General, where she was reunited with her sister for the first time since the accident.

''Those girls were a team,'' said their aunt, Dina White. ``They were a duo. And now Crystal is flying solo.''

Monday was supposed to be the girls' first day of school at Lake Weir High School in Ocala, where Crystal was supposed to start her senior year Monday.

Amber and Crystal White asked to go parasailing Saturday while visiting South Florida with their neighbors from Summerfield, near Ocala.

The boat from Island Waves Parasailing, also known as Pompano Beach Watersports, was heading north near Pompano Beach when the winds suddenly increased from 15 mph to 40 mph, BSO said.

According to the report, winds were blowing between 15 and 25 mph with waves as high as two feet.

The driver then tried to pull the girls back down, but the boat's hydraulic winch wasn't strong enough and the parachute began to pull the boat toward the shore until the towline broke.

The force sent them flying past nearby trees like a slingshot before they crashed into a second-story balcony of a nearby hotel. The impact left Amber with neck and head wounds as well as internal injuries. Crystal also hit her head, according to the incident report, and suffered cuts and bruises.

The girls were taken to separate hospitals, and friends and family members spent the weekend driving the roughly 15 miles between Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach.

The girls' parents have been ''devastated'' since the accident and don't understand how it could have happened, said Dina White, who has spent the past several days flying between Fort Lauderdale and her home near Washington, D.C. Family members plan to donate Amber's organs.

Kipp, 26, had more than 100 hours of experience, according to BSO. He has a commercial boating license and was certified by the Professional Association of Parasail Operators, said Petty Officer James Judge, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman.

Wes Brent, owner of Atlantic Bridge Jet Ski in Pompano Beach, had employees renting water skis on the beach Saturday and said Saturday's winds came ``all of a sudden out of nowhere.''

He said that Kipp has been upset since Saturday.

''He's a good kid. He's been in tears,'' Brent said. ``He's just really hurt about it.''

But Rich Welter, who has owned Sunset Watersports in Key West for the past 25 years, said the typical parasailing rope can hold roughly 8,000 pounds and shouldn't break if it's in good condition.

''That rope is strong enough that you can lift that boat up,'' he said.

Amber leaves behind her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, an older sister and three brothers.

Dina White said they are comforted that Amber knew they all cared.

''I knew she knew how much she was loved,'' said Dina White, choking back tears. ``All I want to do is hold her and tell her that one more time, but she knew it. I never have to wonder because I knew she knew it.''

By Breanne Gilpatrick
The Miami Herald
Miami Herald staff writer Robbyn Mitchell contributed to this report.