Jewish Honor Student Dies In Everglades Boat Crash While Celebrating Graduation

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By Dave Goldiner May 16, 2017

A talented Jewish honor student died when a boat carrying her family crashed in the Florida Everglades while celebrating her graduation from the University of Miami.

Just hours after graduating, Elizabeth (Ellie) Goldenberg, 22, was tossed from an airboat and died Saturday morning She died from her injuries at a nearby hospital, according to the Miami Herald. Her younger sister, Dana Goldenberg, 20, was hospitalized with minor injuries.

Their parents, who were visiting for the graduation from their hometown of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, were unhurt.

The crash was under investigation.

“We loved her, we miss her. It’s a tremendous loss to the world that she was taken so young,” her mom Renee Goldberg told the Sun-Sentinel. “I’m a mourning mother.”

Elizabeth Goldenberg graduated magna cum laude with a degree in fine arts on Friday. She was an aspiring actor.

“We all are suffering a terrible loss of a wondrous person who had huge hopes and dreams,” said friend Gabi Levin.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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