Family files wrongful death lawsuit after 12-year-old daughter Savannah was killed while paddling in Mission Bay in July 2023

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The family of a 12-year-old who died while paddle boarding in Mission Bay last summer has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Her family is now suing the man they say hit her on a jet ski, as well as several other people.

The family filed the lawsuit on Monday, nearly a year after Savannah died in July 2023 when she was struck by a jet ski while paddleboarding at De Anza Cove in Mission Bay.

“Our daughter was a bright, healthy 12-year-old who loved her family and friends, enjoyed playing soccer and dreamed of her future. She is a bright spot in our lives and our hearts have broken every day since we lost her,” Ashley and Mark Peterson, Savannah’s parents, said in a statement via a public relations agency.

The man charged in the criminal case over her death – 19-year-old Arsanyous Ghaly – is charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was arrested in November 2023, about four months after the accident. He was 18 at the time and lives in Bellflower, Los Angeles County.

On Tuesday, Ghaly’s informative arraignment took place, where he pleaded not guilty and denied all charges.

Assistant District Attorney Savanah Howe said, “The defendant was driving 10 times the speed limit, or approximately 50 miles per hour in a 5-mile zone, when he struck the young woman on the paddleboard.”

On Monday, Savannah’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming 10 people as defendants, including Ghaly, two other jet ski riders, the two jet ski owners, the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, the State of California, the San Diego Unified Port District and Offer Up, the platform through which the jet skis were allegedly rented.

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that eight minutes before the fatal incident, a San Diego lifeguard stopped Ghaly and two others on the two jet skis for excessive speed and reckless conduct. It also alleges that Ghaly and the two others, who are unnamed in the criminal case, did not receive adequate training on how to safely operate the jet skis and did not have California boating licenses.

“We urge everyone to take responsibility and take such watercraft seriously to avoid tragic incidents like this one,” said Assistant District Attorney Howe.

If convicted, Ghaly faces up to six years in prison. His next court date is set for August, and the trial is scheduled to begin on November 4. Ghaly will not be in jail during the trial; he was released on parole.

“Her death was a senseless, preventable tragedy for our family, including her younger brother, and for our community. We want to ensure that no other family has to suffer the loss that we live with every day,” the family added.

“We filed this lawsuit to hold people and organizations accountable for creating and maintaining safe spaces and for following and enforcing the laws designed to protect us all. We remain steadfast in our commitment to making Mission Bay a safe place for families and will work to ensure that this preventable tragedy sparks the changes needed to achieve that goal,” the family said in a statement.

“We are currently investigating the details of this case and have no further comment at this time,” an OfferUp spokesperson said in a statement to FOX 5/KUSI.