Jet Ski Explodes, Breaking Woman's Back
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – An Inver Grove Heights woman lived to tell about how a jet ski exploded while she was riding it.
It happened Sunday afternoon on the St. Croix River not far from Afton, Wis. Nicole Montez, 20, suffered a broken back. Her friend, the driver, wasn't hurt.
"I remember just flying through the air and hitting the water," Montez said. "And as soon as I hit the water, I was able to feel it, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move."
Montez said that while air born, she looked down and saw the jet ski below her.
She and her friend were close to shore and close to help. Other boaters covered her with blankets.
"Knowing I could move my hands and my feet, I knew it wasn't going to be too serious, but I didn't know how bad it was going to be," Montez said.
While the friend she was riding with was fine, she was rushed to the hospital. Two vertebrae are broken, and Montez is on bed rest for a month.
She is expected to fully recover. She also hopes to be on the water one day.
It's not clear why the jet ski exploded.
The driver thinks there was a leak in the gas line that ignited the engine.
