Funeral service for the victim of a boating accident on the New Jersey coast on Wednesday

✅ There will be two services for Zeina Mahafzah on Wednesday

✅ The investigation into the accident is ongoing

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

Two memorial services will be held on Wednesday for 18-year-old Zeina Mahafzah, who died in a horrific boating accident in Harvey Cedars on Sunday afternoon.

The young Wayne Hills High School graduate was on a raft being towed by a boat.

As she attempted to board the boat, she was fatally struck by the boat's propeller, according to State Police Sergeant Jeffrey Lebron.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

State police said the investigation into the incident was still ongoing.

She is about to start her college year

In a few days, Mahafzah would begin studying at Rutgers University-Newark.

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

A memorial service for Janaza will be held at 1 p.m. at the Islamic Center Passaic County in Paterson, followed by burial in Totowa.

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

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Safety and dangers on the water

Marty Franco, captain of the Cape May Beach Patrol, said any body of water can be an “inherently dangerous place.”

No one should be careless on board a pleasure boat on the sea or a lake.

“We have people sitting on the bow of these boats who get thrown into the air, fall off and get hurt,” Franco said, speaking generally about general dangers. “You always have to be aware of your surroundings and the possibility of any kind of accident.”

Franco said that while lakes tend to be calm, they can also get rough. Flat-bottomed boats can get into trouble in bays or on lakes with certain winds.

“I think the same precautions need to be taken in both situations, even though the ocean can be a lot rougher at times. Unlike lakes, the ocean has other types of 'environmental life,'” Franco said. “We have the Delaware Bay right around the corner and the weather can change in a heartbeat.”

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