City of San Diego takes steps forward after deadly jet ski incident in 2023

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego is looking to crack down on illegal jet ski and boat rentals on Mission Bay. The move comes a year after a 12-year-old girl was killed while paddle boarding on the bay.
“People come to San Diego and want to be in our water ways, they want to be able to boat safely and paddle board safely, and expect that they’re not going to be hit or struck by someone on a jet ski that rented it off an app,” said Council member Marni von Wilpert. She’s talking about a deadly crash that happened in Mission Bay in July of 2023.
12-year-old Savannah Peterson was paddle boarding when she was hit and killed. The incident rocked the community and calls for safety changes came almost immediately.
City council members were listening. At Wednesday’s Public Safety Committee meeting, they rolled out new proposals to up the penalties for operating illegally.
Right now, a fine for a first offense is $50. The proposal would up that to $250.
The fines would continue to increase and could reach as much as $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
“A $250 fine is nothing,” said Andy Kurtz who owns Seaforth Boat Rental on Mission Bay. “We could do $40,000 a year in a jet ski. So who cares? You get a parking ticket, nobody cares. That’s not what’s going to do it. I don’t think that’s enough of a disincentive for these guys who are out there. They have no overhead. Who knows if they have insurance. You need to have a bigger hammer to stop this.”
Kurtz understands that people want to have fun but said he hopes the city will do its part and check that each business meets all the requirements.
“as a permit with the city of San Diego, has a permit with the port of San Diego, has the legal insurances, complying with all the rules and regulations and that’ll do it!” said Kurtz.
Arsanyous Refat Ghaly was sentenced in Savannah’s death last week. It’s hard to know if these proposed regulations would have had an impact in what happened. What is clear is that a parent’s grief is hard to forget.
“I no longer have firsts with Savannah either,” said Mark Peterson. “Her first love, first breakup, high school graduation, college graduation, wedding or becoming a mother.”