July 29, 2023 was a warm, sunny summer day on Mission Bay. The wind was minimal. Conditions were perfect for paddleboarding near De Anza Cove, except for the fact that it was a busy weekend filled with people enjoying boating, swimming and sunbathing.
A 12-year-old girl was paddleboarding an estimated 30 feet from shore when she was struck by a Jet Ski driven by an 18-year-old man.
She did not survive.
Arsanyous Ghaly of Bellflower was the driver of the Jet Ski. He is now facing a charge of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Ghaly’s preliminary hearing began Monday in San Diego Superior Court.
The first witness was San Diego Lifeguard John Kerr who testified that on the day of the crash he stopped a man on a lime green Jet Ski near De Anza Cove and gave him a warning. Kerr said the man was traveling at an “incredibly high rate of speed” in the 5-mile-per-hour zone near the cove. Kerr said the man he warned was Ghaly.
Moments later a second Jet Ski, identical to the first one, was pulled over for speeding. Kerr testified the man driving that vessel was Ghaly’s cousin. Kerr testified the man was belligerent and refused to hand over his boater’s card.
Kerr testified Ghaly drove to the area where he had stopped the second man, crossing dangerously close to the front of his lifeguard boat. “You’re gonna hurt somebody or you’re gonna hurt yourselves,” he testified he told the men.
Ghaly rode off, according to Kerr, who had decided to impound the other jet ski driver’s vessel.
As he tried to tow the Jet Ski to shore, Kerr testified he heard radio traffic about a crash about 300 yards from where he was. He didn’t respond right away, but a few minutes later decided to join other lifeguards and San Diego Police who were responding to the scene.
Kerr then identified a man in the courtroom gallery as the second Jet Ski driver, Peter. It was later revealed by Ghaly’s defense attorney that the man was not Peter, but an attorney who was watching the preliminary hearing.
Ghaly’s defense team seized the opportunity to try to call Kerr’s testimony into question, and to ask if it was possible Kerr was also mistaken about Ghaly’s identity, as well. “Is it possible you misidentified my client?” defense attorney Hakim George asked.
“Doubtful,” Kerr replied.
Several San Diego Police officers also took the stand revealing what witnesses told them about the crash. Officer Austin Stanek testified one witness told him the girl on the paddleboard was about 25 feet from shore when the Jet Ski raced toward her going 30 to 35 miles-per-hour.
Officer Kyle Lowenstein testified that another witness told him the accident happened 25 yards from shore. On cross examination, Ghaly’s lawyer pointed out that the same witness has also indicated the crash happened 100 feet into the bay, which would have been in the “open speed” zone, where boats and Jet-Skis can travel at higher speeds.
SDPD Officer Alyssa Tutterow testified she gave first aid to the injured paddleboarder, but said the girl had no pulse.
Tutterow interviewed Ghaly on the scene and testified he admitted he was the driver. He said he didn’t know the speed limit and did not have a required boater’s card, that shows he’s taken a safety course.
Tutterow also testified she extracted data from the Yamaha Jet-Ski and sent it off for analysis. That analysis showed the Jet-Ski was moving at a rate of 47-53 miles per hour. There was no evidence of braking, she said, only accelerating.
Testimony in the preliminary hearing is expected to go another day. Then the judge will decide whether there’s enough evidence to bind Ghaly over to stand trial.
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