MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. –
Officers will be out on the Snake Creek Canal Wednesday "educating and citing jet skiers who find it necessary to speed on the water," North Miami Beach police said.
The agency took to Twitter Wednesday morning to make the announcement, a day after a man and an 11-year-old child fell off their personal watercraft in the canal in Miami Gardens.
@myNMBPolice will be out in the Snake Creek Canal educating and citing jet skiers who find it necessary to speed on the water. SLOW DOWN! pic.twitter.com/xOz20OJ5do
— North Miami Beach PD (@myNMBPolice) May 31, 2017
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is still investigating the incident.
FWC spokeswoman Carol Lyn Parrish said Justin Setal, 20, who was driving the 1993 Yamaha PWC, was trying to make a U-turn when he and Marcieno James, 11, were ejected into the water.
Parrish said Setal, who suffered minor injures, and James, who suffered severe injuries, were taken to Jack North Medical Center. James remains there in critical condition.
Witnesses said Setal was able to reach the bank and James was pulled from the water.
Authorities performed CPR on James before taking him to the hospital.
The canal, which runs through Miami Gardens to North Miami Beach, is popular among jet skiers.
"I always be seeing them speeding out here and it be looking nice, but when an accident comes like this is when the problems come," witness Junior Spice said.
Police said they have received complaints from residents in the area about people speeding on personal watercraft.
"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," Parrish said in an email. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. The FWC would like to take this opportunity to remind all boaters enjoying Florida's beautiful waterways to do so safely. Please wear your life jacket and maintain 360-degree awareness at all times while boating."
Click here for boating tips from the FWC.