A 5-year-old girl was killed by a jumping sturgeon Thursday on the Suwanee River in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

LAKE CITY, Fla. (CBSMiami/AP) — A sturgeon leaped into a boat, hitting and killing a 5-year old girl. Wildlife officials say Jaylon Rippy died after being struck Thursday night.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said this is the first fatality recorded from a sturgeon strike on the Suwannee River. Four people have been injured by jumping sturgeon this year.

On average, these fish are 5 feet long, but can weigh more than 170 pounds. The FWC advises boaters to go slow if jumping sturgeon are seen and keep people away from the front of the boat.

LAKE CITY, Fla. --A 5-year-old Florida girl died after a sturgeon leaped into her boat along the Suwannee River and struck her. Wildlife officials said Jaylon Rippy died after being struck ...

The Suwannee River appears to support the largest viable population of Gulf sturgeon in Florida, the estimate at 10,000 to 14,000 fish who spend eight to nine months a year spawning in the river.

Decades after one of the planet's oldest fish vanished from the St. Marys River, scientists are wondering whether they can bring it back. The Atlantic sturgeon, a jumping, armored fish that can gro… ...