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Emily was an Old Greenwich resident and would have been a junior this fall at Greenwich High School.
She died after she was run over by a boat while water-tubing with three girlfriends, all 15 and 16 years old from Greenwich in what police called "a tragic accident," said Greenwich police Lt. Kraig Gray.
A second girl was injured in the accident, he said. The names of the injured girl and the other girls involved were not released Thursday by police.
Emily and another girl were riding in an inner tube pulled by a 21-foot Wahoo center console recreational powerboat with a 200 horsepower outboard engine, Gray said. The two other teenage girls were aboard the boat, he said
Between 2 and 2:30 p.m., "the two girls were dislodged from their tube," Gray said. "The operator of the boat made a turn to pick up the tubers when the boat collided with the two girls in the water. The girls in the water were then injured by the propeller of the outboard engine."
One girl sustained a significant soft tissue but non-life-threatening injury to her left lower leg, Gray said. She required a large number of stitches at Stamford Hospital.
Emily sustained a fatal injury to her torso area and died at the scene, he said.
"The operator of the boat and the passenger immediately rendered aid to the victims, lifting them into the boat and immediately transporting them to the Old Greenwich Yacht Club dock located at the Greenwich Point Park," Gray said.
The accident occurred 1 to 2 miles from the dock on the open waters of Captains Harbor on Long Island Sound, he said.
The accident is being investigated by the Greenwich Police Department Marine Section. The State Environmental Conservation Police (ENCON) will be conducting the accident reconstruction and a mechanic evaluation of the vessel.
"Their report will be extensive," Gray said.
The personal assessment of the primary investigator on the scene was "this is a tragic accident," Gray said.
"Our thoughts and prayers go the victim, her family, and her friends," he said.
Superintendent of Schools William McKersie said the Greenwich Public School system is mourning one of its own.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time of tragedy," he said in a statement."There are few words that can express the deep compassion we feel for the family of the young girl that has died and for the three other girls involved in the accident. The Greenwich Public School community is ready to support the girls involved and their families in every way possible."
The Greenwich school system is offering grief counseling services for anyone in need. The hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Greenwich High School and Eastern Middle School. If anyone is feeling in the need of counseling and cannot make it to either site, call 211 or call the Center for Hope at 203-655-0547.
Read more about the accident here on the Daily Voice.
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