Fatal Chelmsford Jet Ski Crash: Victim Remembered As 'Great Student,' Friend

CHELMSFORD, MA — Friends and family are remembering a 16-year-old girl who died after police said a drunk jet skier struck her on the Merrimack River in Chelmsford over the weekend. Isabelle Silva was a sophomore at Lowell High School. Friends and family are raising money for her funeral expenses.

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"She was a great student, dedicated, a friend, a very good daughter, and very dear to her friends," her family said in a statement through a fundraising page.

Police said Douglas Dematos, 32, of Lowell, was drunk when he hit Silva's jet ski Sunday night, knocking her into the river. Her body was recovered Monday.

Chelmsford Police Chief James Spinney said police were called to the river for a report of people "yelling and arguing."

"Officers conducted a preliminary investigation and learned that two jet skis had collided on the river, resulting in a female passenger on one of the jet skis being knocked into the water," Spinney said in a statement. "Officers determined that Dematos had been operating one of the jet skis and had allegedly been drinking alcohol prior to the collision."

Dematos was transported to Lowell General Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, Spinney said. Dematos was charged with:

• Operating a watercraft under the influence of liquor
• Negligent operation of a motor boat
• Operating a jet ski at night
• Operating an unregistered motor boat
• Operating at night without navigational lights
• Operating a jet ski too close to another vessel

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Photo: Isabelle Silva. (Credit: GoFundMe/Courtesy)