A child has died in a tragic tubing accident in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told WCJB that three children – ages 8, 10, and 11 – were on a tube being pulled by a jet ski when it collided with a dock. The children had been enjoying a day on the lake in Hawthorne, Florida, before the jet ski collision reportedly caused them to be thrown from the tube.
Not much information has been publicized as of June 20, 2025, but neighbors told WCJB that the children were visiting their grandparents. The two other children involved in the accident were injured and taken to the hospital. According to the news outlet, the accident occurred at Star Lake on June 17.
It’s not clear who was controlling the jet ski or which child died in the accident. Officials told People that more information will be released at a later date because the incident is still under “an active investigation.”
One local resident, Steven Gabbard, told WCJB that the lake used to be “packed full of people” during the summer, especially around holidays. However, that is no longer the case. Gabbard couldn’t recall a time in the past 20 years when anything like this has happened on the lake.
Another local person, Rusty Lisk, added that the situation is unfathomable. “My prayers are with them, and I’m sorry to hear that children were hurt just having fun on a lake enjoying their day, and for the death of a young child like that, it hurts,” Lisk told the news outlet. “It really hurts.”
