Leaping sturgeon kills boat trip girl, 5, and injures her mother and brother

A girl of five has been killed by a sturgeon which leaped onto her boat in Florida. Jayln Rippy died after she was struck by the fish during a family outing on the Suwanee River. Her mother, Tanya, and nine-year-old brother Trevor were also seriously injured and will need facial reconstructive surgery. The family has now launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for funeral and medical expenses.

This is a terrible tragedy.We want everyone boating on the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers to be aware that the sturgeon are jumping and that people have been injured

Maj Andy Krause, FWC regional commander in Lake City

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, four people have been injured by leaping sturgeon on the river this year. Jayln’s death is the first fatality recorded from a sturgeon strike on the Suwannee River, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Two other people, Colleen Harvey, 42, and her husband Charles, 41, were also hurt by jumping sturgeons Friday while boating on the Santa Fe River, officials said. Sturgeon can grow up to up to 8ft long and weigh up to 200 pounds and lower water levels cause them to jump more frequently

Americas sturgeon