NJ teen killed in boating horror: Terrifying accident explained

✅ Two services are being held for Zeina Mahafzah on Wednesday

✅ The investigation into the accident is ongoing

✅ A lifeguard captain urges awareness of conditions to avoid tragedy in the water

Two memorials take place Wednesday for 18-year-old Zeina Mahafzah, the Wayne resident killed in a gruesome boating accident in Harvey Cedars on Sunday afternoon.

The recent graduate of Wayne Hills High School was on a raft being pulled by a boat.

As she tried to get on board the boat, she was fatally struck by the boat's propeller, according to State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

State Police said their investigation of the incident is ongoing.

About to start her college years

Mahafzah was days away from starting classes at Rutgers University-Newark.

"The Rutgers-Newark community is devastated by the news of Zeina’s passing, and we are sending our support to the Mahafzah family during this incredibly difficult time," spokeswoman Dory Devlin told New Jersey 101.5 in an email.

A Janaza funeral prayer will be at 1 p.m. at the Islamic Center Passaic County in Paterson followed by burial in Totowa.

A condolence and prayer event will be at 6 p.m. at the El-Zahra Islamic Center in Midland Park. Friends and family of all faiths are invited to either event.

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Safety and danger on the waters

Cape May Beach Patrol Capt. Marty Franco said any body of water can be an "inherently dangerous place."

Nobody should let their guard down on board a pleasure craft on the ocean or a lake.

"We have people that sit on the bows of these boats and they get thrown up in the air and come down and get hurt," Franco said, speaking generally about common dangers. "You always have to be aware of your environment and the potential for any kind of mishaps."

Franco said that while lakes tend to be more gentle, they can also turn rough. Flat-bottom boats can get into trouble on bays or lakes with certain winds.

"I think the same precautions have to be taken in both situations although the ocean can be much rougher at times. You have different different types of 'environmental creatures' in the ocean, as opposed to lakes," Franco said. "We have the Delaware Bay around the corner and the weather can change on a dime."

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