(WBAP/KLIF) — WFAA News 8 – GRAPEVINE, Texas — Suspects in a jet ski hit-and-run incident on Grapevine Lake were arrested, officials announced Tuesday, with the driver of a personal water craft arrested on a charge of second degree manslaughter.
The Texas Game Wardens announced Tuesday – in collaboration with the Grapevine Police Department – that Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez was arrested in connection with the death of 18-year-old Ava Moore. According to an arrest warrant obtained by WFAA, Gonzalez is held on bond set at $500,000 and also held on charges of reckless operation and excessive speed of a personal water craft and leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest of a second person in connection with the incident later Tuesday. That person was later identified by Texas Game Wardens as 21-year-old Maikel Coello Perozo. Paxton also alleged that both of those arrested were undocumented.
According to Texas Game Wardens, Gonzalez and Perozo hit two vehicles while leaving the area. Grapevine PD is leading that portion of the investigation, while Texas Game Wardens lead the water fatality investigation. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department also noted that a press conference will be held on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., where representatives from Texas Game Wardens, Grapevine PD and Homeland Security Investigations will speak.
Officials said the Grapevine Fire Department responded at approximately 5:20 p.m. Sunday to an emergency near Oak Grove Park. Initial reports indicated that a person had been kayaking when they were hit by a jet ski.
Moore was pulled ashore with significant trauma, and first responders began advanced life support measures, according to a statement from the department. Moore was transported to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Grapevine, where she was pronounced dead, officials announced.
On Memorial Day, Grapevine police released a photo of one of two women believed to be on the jet ski that hit Ava’s kayak. Authorities said one woman fled the scene with a male friend after the crash. In the process of leaving, investigators believe they hit another driver and abandoned their vehicle near the Cobblestone Apartments at Ruth Wall and Turner Road.
Police have not released the name of the second woman who was on the jet ski. That individual stayed at the scene following the incident.
On Wednesday afternoon, Texas Game Wardens announced the arrest of the woman they had been looking for: Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez.
The arrest warrant filed by Texas Parks and Wildlife says witnesses reported that the suspect “recklessly made several passes along the shoreline with wanton disregard to the safety of others and at a speed and manner that endangered others in the area, before eventually colliding with one of two kayakers paddling near the shoreline.” The arrest warrant states that Daikerlyn Gonzalez Gonzalez, operating the PWC, drove “across the top of the kayak” turned back in the direction of the accident and then sped away.
After driving away on the personal water craft, witnesses say the suspect returned to the shoreline where “bystanders attempted to restraint the two occupants of the PWC” but that others attempted “to guard and help with moving the PWC occupants toward vehicles in the parking lot.”
“She she did take someone away that a lot of people love and adore,” said Eva Love, a classmate of Ava Moore at the Air Force Prep Academy. The two, with similar names, considered themselves twins.
“She was going to be a four-star general,” Love said. “She was going to serve her country. She loved her country. She wanted just to serve.” Both recently completed the 10-month program at the Air Force Prep Academy and played together on the school’s basketball team.
“You took someone who is just so kind and loving and makes sure everyone else around them is just taking care of,” Love said when asked what she would say to the suspect. “And she was just one of our best friends, like, I don’t even know how to explain her, she was just Ava.”
“We lost an exemplary teammate this weekend – Cadet Candidate Ava Moore, whose passion for leadership and service left an impact on everyone she met. Ava’s constant happiness and attitude helped her squadron get through the challenges of the Prep School, and her drive to excel was on display as she sought out leadership positions to improve herself and her team,” said Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent. “Our team is focused on providing support to Ava’s family, her Prep School Squadron, the Prep School Women’s Basketball team, and the entire Academy family.”
Ava Moore graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School on May 19th and had accepted an appointment to join the Academy as a member of the Class of 2029.
In photos released by Grapevine Police and Texas Parks and Wildlife, Daikerlyn Gonzalez Gonzalez has a Bible verse tattooed on her left shoulder. “Se fuerte y valiente” translates to “be strong and courageous.” The victim’s friends question why she was not.
“And so that’s really hard to just comprehend, it’s like, why didn’t you, you just left right away. Ava would have never done that to anyone like she, she never left the room making sure about making sure everyone was OK,” said her friend Eva Love.
Moore’s family shared a written statement through her father:
“We are grieving the loss of our daughter at this time….Our prayers are also with the young ladies involved, along with their families.”
The family also shared a second photograph of Moore taken on May 19, alongside her brother, after she received her appointment during the United States Air Force Academy Prep Graduation.
(Copyright 2025 WBAP/KLIF Newsroom News. All rights reserved. Contains material from WFAA News 8)
