INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 25-year-old man was flown to a trauma center Saturday after jumping off a boat and then being struck by the vessel’s propeller, authorities said.
“We’re not sure why he jumped off,” Indian River County Fire Rescue spokesman Cory Richter said.
The incident happened about 5 p.m. Saturday in the Indian River Lagoon, just north of the Merrill P. Barber Bridge, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Chad Weber said. At least 10 people were aboard the rented boat when the man and another person dove into the water, authorities said.
When the boat operator swung around, the propeller struck the man on at least one of his legs, Weber and Richter said. The man was taken by helicopter to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce.
No other injuries were reported. Further details on the incident and the man’s condition were not immediately available.
FWC officials were at the scene late Saturday talking to witnesses, Weber said. The FWC will investigate the cause of the incident.
No further details were immediately available.
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