THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608220156
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 151 lines
LYNN KERSHNER GREW up around the water and felt just fine on jet skis. Four weeks ago, as she and her husband, Richard, were headed to shore, she easily jumped a passing boat's wake and turned back to rejoin him.
That's when the boat's second wave lifted her up sideways and flung her and her powerful machine straight toward her husband.
``I remember thinking, `Oh, oh, we're gonna hit.' I took my hand off the throttle, but it was too late. I heard a loud crash.
``Then I remember being in the water, and I couldn't breathe.''
The force of the collision, near First Landing State Park in Broad Bay, drove Richard deep into the water. Buoyed by his life jacket, he popped to the surface like a cork.
And he knew Lynn was in trouble.
``Her lips were blue. She said, in a shaky voice, `Get me out of the water. I'm dying.'
``I got back on my jet ski and tried to pull her up,'' he said, calm now, but his voice still catching a little. ``But when I did she screamed in agony.''
They didn't know how badly Lynn, 41, was hurt. She had four broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a crushed kidney, a cracked pelvis, a ruptured spleen and nasty-looking wounds on her side and back.
He was afraid she might have spinal damage, but she could move her limbs. With the help of others with them, he got her up on the jet ski and balanced her against him.
Then another wave hit them and knocked them over.
Finally, they got her to shore. He and her son, John, supported her so she could breathe more easily.
``I knew I was in serious trouble,'' Lynn said. ``They had all had these looks on their faces like they were praying. I was so afraid I was going to lose them, I couldn't look at them and focused on the trees.
``It was beautiful. The sun was coming down through the trees, backlighting them. They were bright green and the sky deep blue. `Beautiful place, God,' I said. `I love this sight. I want to see it again.' '' Then she blacked out.
Kershner was in the intensive care unit of Virginia Beach General Hospital for five days after emergency surgery that repaired her ribs, pelvis and lung, removed her spleen and replaced several quarts of blood.
After two weeks in the hospital, she's begun a slow but still painful recuperation at home in the Kempsville area. She has the distinction of being the worst so far of the almost-weekly victims of personal watercraft accidents in Virginia Beach.
By far, the majority of outings on the ever-more-popular personal watercraft are safe and uneventful. In fact, police say, most of the rental operations have had only rare problems. Luckily, police said, most renters are inexperienced and afraid to go fast or try dare-devil tricks.
``It keeps people from running into each other - at least at a high rate of speed,'' said Sgt. Frank Genova, head of the Virginia Beach Marine Patrol.
``The biggest problem is owners who lend them out. You get three or four people on the beach. It's more of a toy than it is a watercraft. Here's the gas and away we go,'' he said.
At 30th Street and the beach, Oceanfront Water Sports keeps two lifeguards in the water while riders are out and an emergency medical technician standing by in case of trouble.
Albert Fam, a Beach firefighter and EMT, doesn't mind scaring customers a little.
In a speech he could give in his sleep, he told Aimee Murto of Fort Myers, Fla., and Denise Canissario of Virginia Beach, to stay inside the pink buoys as they left the beach, then take a right turn toward the 15th Street fishing pier, the outer boundary.
``When you get down that way, don't even get close to the pier. It's real dangerous around there. Fishermen will try to cast a line and catch you.
``Make sure you stay away. It's real dangerous. Also, once you get out there, you need to stay 300 yards off the beach. If you come within 300 yards of the beach and the police see you, they'll ticket you. It's a hundred bucks
Fam admitted: ``If you tell them just to stay from the pier, they'll head right for it. If you scare them, they'll stay away.''
The two women didn't need to be frightened.
``Actually, I think they gave us too much information,'' said Canissario when the two women returned. ``It kind of scared us. All you have to do is show us where to turn it on.''
Murto said she had fun, but wouldn't advise it for everyone. ``Younger kids, 14 or 15 - I would not suggest they ride these things. They're really powerful and fast. I definitely could see them losing control.''
State law sets a 14-year age minimum for personal watercraft operation. At Oceanfront Water Sports, riders have to be at least 16 and have a driver's license.
``If they can't operate an automobile, we don't want them on jet skis,'' said Bill Parker, who runs the operation.
``We give them one warning. If they can't operate the jet skis in a safe manner we bring them in, no questions asked.''
Several rental operations send lifeguards out with riders and most give lengthy safety instructions, but not all, Parker said.
``I'm against them when the people who are renting them don't know what they're doing. They give the rest of us a bad name.''
The week after Kershner's accident, another woman was injured. This time she slowed down unexpectedly and her companion ran into the side of her watercraft. The result: a broken ankle.
The following week, two young men ran into each other near Rudee Inlet, with no injuries, just broken watercraft.
Last weekend, a jet skier ran into a bridge pier, again with no serious damage to himself.
In Virginia, personal watercraft account for five percent of the watercraft, but 33 percent of the accidents.
The Beach requires personal watercraft users to stay at least 100 yards away from just about every object, whether it's a boat, another jet skier or swimmers. They must also stay 300 yards from shore and depart and return at slow speed. Making a wake when coming or going is enough for a summons.
But still, the Beach is considering tougher provisions. Robert W. Esenberg, administrator of risk management, said the city and state should discuss what more needs to be done about the watercraft. ``We should make sure that rental operations instruct people on the proper use,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Lynn Kershner keeps in good spirits as she recovers at home. She'll be out of the office of the couple's business, a car detailing operation, until December and unable to do strenuous work for nearly a year.
She walks with a cane, a little bent to the left because of a painfully bruised side. Even though she probably will never ride a personal watercraft again, the accident hasn't robbed her of her sense of humor.
``I think I'll try something safe like bungee jumping.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
THRILLS & SPILLS
Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Staff photo by BETH BERGMAN
The Beach requires personal watercraft users to stay at least 100
yards away from just about every object, whether it's a boat,
another jet skier or swimmers.
Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Lynn Kershner, 41, suffered four broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a
crushed kidney, a cracked pelvis and a ruptured spleen in a jet ski
collision with her husband, Richard, a month ago.
Staff photos, including color cover, by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Billy Parker gives a ride to Denise Canissario of Virginia Beach as
Amy and Bret Bonitz of Windber, Pa., return from their outing.
A jet skier rides past a boat advertising rentals for Oceanfront
Water Sports at 30th Street. At Oceanfront Water Sports, riders have
to be at least 16 and have a driver's license.
Albert Fam of Oceanfront Water Sports gives jet ski safety
instructions to Denise Canissario of Virginia Beach and Aimee Murto
of Fort Myers, Fla., off 32nd Street. ``Actually, I think they gave
us too much information,'' said Canissario when the two women
returned. ``It kind of scared us. All you have to do is show us
where to turn it on.''
KEYWORDS: JET SKI ACCIDENTS PERSONAL WATERCRAFT by CNB