Coroner IDs teen girls killed in personal watercraft crash on Chain O’ Lakes

Two teenage girls killed in a collision between a Yamaha WaveRunner and a boat on Lake Marie near Antioch were identified Thursday as Sarina Vootkur, 16, of Lake Forest, California, and Elle Kim, 13, of Long Grove.

The teens died as a result of blunt force injuries suffered in the crash Tuesday evening, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

A preliminary investigation showed Vootkur was operating the WaveRunner and Kim was the passenger, according to the coroner’s office.

Witnesses said the pair were heading north near the channel to Grass Lake, just north of the Elime Road peninsula, at a “high rate of speed” when the Yamaha collided with a Sea Ray Cabin Cruiser driven by a 55-year-old Antioch man, according to the coroner’s office.

Vootkur and Kim, who were wearing life vests, were knocked unconscious and thrown into the water from the force of the impact, authorities said.

They were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where they were pronounced dead. The boat operator was not injured.

The crash remains under investigation, authorities said.