GUESTBOOK
NEWPORT, Ky. — A 29-year-old Fairfield woman killed in a jet skiing accident on the Ohio River likely died on impact, according to authorities.
Laura Russell, of Bent Tree Drive, was riding a jet ski when she was struck by another jet ski around 5 p.m. Monday, July 19, just west of the Purple People Bridge in downtown Cincinnati, according to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife spokesman Mark Marraccini, who said the collision appeared to be accidental.
“It looks like a preventable accident, but an accident nonetheless,” he said.
Russell was a sophomore at Miami University’s Hamilton campus, where she was a psychology major, according to the university’s website.
This summer, Russell was involved in an Oxford campus-based study abroad experience in Nicaragua, where she made significant contributions to the mission of the trip, according to Miami’s posting to alert students to Russell’s death.
Marraccini said Russell had just met Cincinnati resident Nicole Jackson, 31, when the two went to the river together on their personal watercrafts shortly after 4 p.m. Monday. They left from the Beer Sellar Dock in Newport, he said.
An hour later, they were headed downriver at roughly 20 mph to 30 mph with Russell in the lead and Jackson right behind her, Marraccini said.
“Russell made a sudden 180-degree turn and stopped,” he said. “Jackson let up on the throttle and was unable to turn and ran into Russell.”
He said both women were thrown from their watercrafts, and Jackson held Russell in the water until a boat arrived and picked up Russell.
Someone aboard attempted CPR, but “it appears that Russell died on impact,” Marraccini said.
Another boat picked up Jackson, he said.
An autopsy was performed Tuesday on Russell by the Campbell County Coroner’s Office in Kentucky, but officials said results likely won’t be unavailable for some time.
There are no indications that alcohol was a factor, but the incident is still under investigation, Marraccini said.