Deadly Jet Ski crash on Manatee River has family mourning loss of teen: ‘Hold your babies tight’

BRADENTON, Fla. - A teenager is dead, and his brother is fighting for his life after a fishing trip turned tragic Saturday.

The FWC said a 14-year-old boy died and his 17-year-old brother is in the ICU after a Jet Ski and the boys’ boat crashed on the Manatee River.

"They're your typical boys," Kenny Shewbridge, the boy’s uncle, said. "They love the outdoors, fishing, and hunting."

Shewbridge said fishing, though, was his nephews James and Hunter Ganey’s favorite.

"Just about every weekend they were there, those boys were. And over the summer, I'm sure more than that," he said. "Their father and their grandfather had taught them and had them on the water from a young age. They were fully prepared, so they got their own boat. They showed they were responsible enough to have had their own boat, and went out fishing like they do any other time."

James and Hunter Ganey fishing on boat.

Saturday, though, wasn’t like any other time.

"My mother called and explained to me kind of what happened. The boys were in a boating accident," he said. "Nobody prepares for this kind of news, obviously. And it's just one of those deals. It's unexplainable. Unfathomable."

READ: 'It doesn't feel real': Polk County teen killed in jet ski accident on Frostproof lake

Fourteen-year-old Hunter died and his 17-year-old brother, James, is in the ICU at Tampa General.

"From my understanding, the boys were sitting in a no wake zone fishing and some jet skis were coming by, I think on their way back to the boat ramp possibly. And two of them went out wide, I guess had seen him. But the third one came around the corner a little too heavy and didn't see them in time and hit their boat dead on," Shewbridge said.

A no-wake zone sign in the Manatee River. 

The FWC said it’s investigating the incident with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

READ: Florida teen dies after being thrown off Jet Ski without life jacket: deputies

"They loved their families. They loved deeply. They were smart as can be. I mean, you're talking a 17 and a 14-year-old that could rebuild a go-cart motor or modify a bicycle," Shewbridge said.
"Hold your babies tight. Give them hugs, kisses. Don't go to sleep mad. Tomorrow's never, never guaranteed to any one of us."

Hunter Ganey was killed in the crash. 

The FWC said in a statement, "The FWC extends its deepest condolences to the families affected by this tragic event. This loss of life is profoundly felt by our agency and the entire Manatee County community."

READ: Man scalloping on Crystal River almost loses legs in hit-and-run boat crash

The agency said the person driving the Jet Ski was a 45-year-old resident of Palmetto, but weren’t able to release information on that person’s condition or any other details because the incident is under investigation. 

James and Hunter Ganey fishing on boat.

"Right now, families are preparing for back-to-school shopping, for Christmas shopping. They're budgeting for things like that. We’re in expensive times right now no matter what. So, I don't think, is prepared or preparing for this. It's truly devastating. And I know there's going to be there's probably going to be some more doctor's visits. There probably can be therapy for several of the family members. There are funeral expenses," Shewbridge said.

The family has started a fundraiser to help pay for some of those expenses.