SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego courtroom was filled with emotion Friday as the parents of Savannah Peterson, a 12-year-old girl who died after being struck by a jet ski, faced the man responsible for her death.
Arsanyous Ghaly, 19, was sentenced by Judge Polly Shamoon following the July 2023 collision in Mission Bay.
“It was the last day that my daughter told me she loved me; it was the last day I got to hear her laugh,” said Ashley Peterson, Savannah’s mother, speaking about spoke about the final moments she shared with her.
GoFundMe started for married couple killed in downtown shooting
Savannah, who loved playing soccer and dreamed of going to college, was paddle boarding in a five-mile-per-hour zone in De Anza Cove when she was hit by Ghaly’s jet ski, which was speeding at approximately 50 miles per hour.
Her father, Mark Peterson, a U.S. Navy chief who was deployed overseas at the time of her death, spoke about the devastating impact on his life. “I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety now, something I’ve never experienced,” he said. “I have no idea if I’m going to continue my career in the Navy, a career I started after Savannah was born.”