By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
ST.LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida sheriff’s deputy owes his life to a group of good Samaritans, who rushed to help when he was thrown into the blades of his boat’s spinning propeller, according to investigators.
The deputy suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. St. Lucie is on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about a 110-mile drive north of Miami.
Investigators say it happened at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, and involved a deputy assigned to the county’s Marine Unit. His identity has not been released.
“The deputy’s injuries are consistent with being struck by engine propellers,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
“The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the good Samaritans who witnessed this event and took immediate, life-saving actions.”
Details of the rescue have not been released, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the good Samaritans pulled the deputy from the water.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident. A preliminary investigation indicates he was thrown out of his boat by a passing “rogue wave,” St. Lucie County officials said.
Sheriff’s department officials report the deputy is recovering.
Like many of Florida’s coastal counties, St. Lucie has a marine unit of marked patrol vessels that “monitor waterways and assist vessels in distress.”
“In light of this incident, we want to acknowledge the very real dangers all law enforcement face while protecting our waterways and ensuring the safety of our community,” the sheriff’s office said.
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