Girl, 5, dead after being struck by leaping sturgeon on Florida river

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it was the first fatality recorded from a sturgeon strike on the Suwannee River. Her mother and 9-year-old brother were also injured in the incident.

The family has set up a Go Fund Me account to help with funeral costs and to pay for cosmetic surgery for Jayln’s mother and sister.

On Friday, Colleen and Charles Harvey were transported to Shands after they were hit by a sturgeon on the Sante Fe.

The Rippy family was involved in an accident on Thursday, July 2, 2015 where a sturgeon collided with their boat.

The large, prehistoric-looking sturgeon have hard plates along their backs. They can grow up to 9 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds.

According to officials, while sturgeons are known to leap out of water, this year, the number of incidents caused by leaping sturgeons have been on the rise.

In 2007, a leaping sturgeon severely injured a 50-year-old woman from St. Petersburg as she was riding a personal watercraft along the Suwannee. She suffered a ruptured spleen, a broken tooth and nearly lost three fingers on her left hand. Because water levels have been dropping, the sturgeon are jumping more often, officials said.

Lower water levels cause them to jump more frequently, wildlife officials warned.

The FWC reminds anyone in a boat to wear life jackets and do no stay on the bow of the craft.