Leaping sturgeon injures Florida woman

A sturgeon jumped out of a river and hit a woman riding a personal watercraft causing severe injuries, the latest accident involving the flying fish along the Suwannee River, officials said. Sharon Touchton, 50, of St. Petersburg, suffered a ruptured spleen and had three fingers reattached by surgeons, but she lost her left pinkie finger and a tooth. Problems with sturgeon — which are large, prehistoric-looking fish with hard plates along their backs that can grow up to 8 feet long and up to 200 pounds — came to a head last year when 10 people were injured in accidents caused by the jumping fish. Gulf sturgeon migrate into the Suwannee River in March to spawn, and remain in the river until the fall. Researchers are not sure why the large fish jump.