A teenage ballerina was struck and killed by a boat while waterskiing in Miami.
Ella Riley Adler, 15, was being towed in Biscayne Bay when she fell into the water and was hit by another boat on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
The boat continued on off Nixon Beach Sandbar near Key Biscayne in Florida and Ella died of her injuries.
Ella, a Ransom Everglades School student, ‘shone on stage as a ballerina in the Nutcracker’ and appeared in more than 100 performances with the Miami City Ballet, according to her obituary.
‘She dazzled us with her light. She emanated love and joy. She was beautiful. When she walked into a room, everyone was drawn to her,’ it states. ‘She loved to dance, she loved her friends, and most of all she loved her family.’
At Ella’s funeral on Monday, her father, Matthew Adler, said that he and her mother ‘have said for years that you truly got the best parts of both of us’.
‘You were taken from us way too soon, and the world has been robbed of all the things you could have achieved,’ he said, according to the Miami Herald. ‘But you will always be here with us and your friends and family will carry your energy and spirit forever.’
On Tuesday, a boat of interest was identified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The owner of the boat has been taken into custody and is cooperating with the investigation.
‘I am pleased to report that we have a vessel in custody that matches the description given by witnesses, and the investigation is ongoing,’ the commission’s chairman, Rodney Barreto, told NBC Miami.
‘As a father and grandfather, my heart is broken for the Adler family. Ella’s death is devastating for her family, friends, and the community at large. The FWC and our partner law enforcement agencies will not stop until we have all the answers and the case is solved.’
Ella is survived by her father, mother, brother and sister, as well as grandparents, aunts and uncles.
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