CADILLAC — They set out to enjoy Independence Day on Berry Lake in Wexford County.
But soon, the fun turned into horror when a jet ski got out of control.
Like many families, Racquel Schroder Bregg’s and her kids hit the lake for a little fun on July 4th.
That fun quickly turned into tragedy when a jet skier began driving erratically.
“There were quite a few jet skis that were in and out most of the day, we had seen them earlier being a little crazy with other boats that were out there too,” said Bregg. “They had come back out while we were out and started doing jumps, it got a little crazy behind us.”
But what Bregg’s didn’t know was that one jet ski would get more out of hand. She noticed one of them heading toward her boat that had an innertube attached with her kids on it.
“I immediately cut the engine on the boat so that he could just go where he needed to get around us, and instead of heading in front of the boat like it seemed he was going to, he changed directions and headed straight for our tube.”
Waving hands accompanied terrifying screams of no in a panicked attempt to alert the jet skier to stop, but instead, the jet ski moved forward at full speed. In the blink of an eye Bregg’s son Essian was hit by the jet ski and tossed off the innertube.
“He took a direct hit. Once they were hit, my 19-year-old started screaming that my 12-year-old wasn’t moving,” said Bregg.
Essian was unconscious in the water, the family immediately called 911 for help.
“When we pulled him out of the water, he was bleeding and not responsive.”
But luckily that changed after a while.
“He had started to move his fingers and toes,” said Bregg.
Essian suffered a broken collar bone, multiple lacerations and several fractures in his jaw. His mouth is now wired shut with no way of knowing how long the injuries will take to heal.
The message his mom wants to get out is focused on awareness.
“It not worth having fun at the risk of somebody else’s life. You can have fun other ways,” said Bregg. “It’s the same thing as getting behind the wheel of a car. You are putting yourself and other people at risk and our local waters need to be treated just as important as big letters”