"Woman Dies in Boating Accident"
An Israeli woman who had been in Pensacola about a year and planned to leave next week was killed Sunday when she fell from a boat.
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Michal Elboim, 24, was sitting on the bow of a 24-foot pontoon boat when she fell into Perdido Bay and was hit by the boat's propeller, said Stan Kirkland, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman.
Elboim worked for the Pensacola Jewish Federation as a goodwill ambassador, promoting Israel to the Jewish and gentile communities, said Chip Merritt, the federation's president.
A memorial service is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Temple Beth-El at 800 North Palafox St., Rabbi Leonard Zukrow said.
For more information about the service, call the federation at 434-7992.
She had plans to leave Pensacola and the United States on Aug. 5, do some traveling then return to her country, Merritt said.
"The people who worked closest with her, we are all devastated," Merritt said. "We obviously are saddened. We are shocked. We don't know anything else about what happened other than it was a tragic accident."
The accident happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. south of the Lillian Bridge at Innerarity Point.
Ten people were on the boat. Four are military personnel from Pensacola Naval Air Station and Whiting Field Naval Air Station. The others are civilians, Kirkland said.
The accident happened as a man on the boat was trying to show a woman how to pilot it and as Elboim sat on the bow with a man, Kirkland said.
"With (the boat) moving, apparently it all happened within a second or two," Kirkland said.
Alcohol is not believed to have played a role in the accident, Kirkland said.
Exactly what caused Elboim to fall remains under investigation.
"We strongly discourage people from riding on the bow, because if you fall off, you are on the path to be run over," Kirkland said. "It's possibly the most dangerous place you can be on a vessel."
FWC officers can issue a citation to the operator of a boat for allowing people to ride on a boat's bow.
Kirkland said it's too early in the investigation into Sunday's accident to know whether anyone will be cited for anything.
"They are still sorting things out," he said.
Elboim was helped back into the boat after she fell and was taken to a private boat dock in the 5400 block of North Shore Road, Innerarity Point Fire Chief Jim Pokrandt said.
"She had massive lacerations to the left side of her body," Pokrandt said.
Jim Gerritsen, 45, who owns the dock and is a North Shore Road resident, was outside and could hear the people on the boat yelling for help.
Art Lami, 45, a paramedic and Gerritsen's neighbor, also could hear them.
Lami said people on the boat started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Elboim, and he also tried to resuscitate her after they made it to the dock.
Firefighters and Emergency and Medical Services paramedics took over trying to revive Elboim after they arrived on scene.
A helicopter was called to transport Elboim to the hospital, but in the end it was not needed.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
"They did all they could," Gerritsen said of all who tried to save the woman. "It's just a shame."
Rest in Peace, Michal. You brought so much joy and light to the world. It is a dimmer place without you. We love you and miss you very much.
