Miami Watercraft Accident Claims Life Of Atlanta Woman

ATLANTA, GA -- An Atlanta woman was among two killed during a watercraft accident near Miami Beach on Monday, Patch has learned. Thirty-four-year-old Sabrina LaShea Daniels of Atlanta and Julio C. Monteiro, 30, of Massachusetts died when their 10-foot Yamaha slammed into a concrete bridge support.

Daniels and Monterio were both rushed to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Atlanta Patch.)

The incident began about 5:30 p.m. when the pair were aboard a personal watercraft in the water, authorities said.

"Two subjects on board of the PWC [personal watercraft] were traveling eastbound towards the causeway, and impacted one of the concrete bridge archway supports while attempting to maneuver the vessel," according to FWC. "Both subjects were ejected into the water."

Friends of the pair were on a nearby boat and witnessed the incident. "We didn't even notice that anything had happened until we started seeing helicopters and police and everything, and then we see the jet ski floating in the water," Sabrina Lopes told ABC affiliate News 10.

Florida officials said that they were heartbroken by the accident and wished to reach out to the families of the victims.

"All of the members of the FWC want to express our sincere sympathies to the victims and families of the victims involved in this incident,"officials said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them."

A GoFundMe page set up to help cover Daniels' funeral expenses had raised nearly $1,500 of a $20,000 goal as of Wednesday morning.

Patch's Paul Scicchitano contributed to this report.

Photo of Sabrina Daniels courtesy GoFundMe