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Fallen boater run over by own boat
CITIZEN STAFF
A Canadian man who narrowly escaped death may lose his leg after being struck by the propeller of his own boat in Angelfish Creek Sunday morning.
Thomas Noel Davidson, 52, of Ottawa, suffered severe, deep cuts to his right leg after falling out of a 17-foot Dolphin flats boat at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Bobby Dube.
Davidson was run over by the boat, which was running in circles with no one at the helm, Dube said. Before going into surgery, Davidson told an FWC officer he fell backward as the boat was coming up on plane, Dube said.
Two people on personal watercraft saw the skiff going in circles and found Davidson clinging to a mangrove root, Dube said. They took him to the Ocean Reef Club, where he was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
Davidson remained in critical condition Monday and spent most of Sunday in surgery. Dube said Monday afternoon that it was uncertain whether Davidson's leg would have to be amputated.
Had the two people on the watercraft not been there, Davidson most likely would have bled to death, Dube said.
Dube, citing the incident, urged boaters to use a kill switch, a device that turns off the engine when an operator falls overboard.
"You're not legally required to have one, but they're a very good safety precaution," he said. "Lucky for this man these people were out there to help him. They saved his life."
Angelfish Creek connects Card Sound with the Atlantic Ocean.
CITIZEN STAFF
A Canadian man who narrowly escaped death may lose his leg after being struck by the propeller of his own boat in Angelfish Creek Sunday morning.
Thomas Noel Davidson, 52, of Ottawa, suffered severe, deep cuts to his right leg after falling out of a 17-foot Dolphin flats boat at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Bobby Dube.
Davidson was run over by the boat, which was running in circles with no one at the helm, Dube said. Before going into surgery, Davidson told an FWC officer he fell backward as the boat was coming up on plane, Dube said.
Two people on personal watercraft saw the skiff going in circles and found Davidson clinging to a mangrove root, Dube said. They took him to the Ocean Reef Club, where he was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
Davidson remained in critical condition Monday and spent most of Sunday in surgery. Dube said Monday afternoon that it was uncertain whether Davidson's leg would have to be amputated.
Had the two people on the watercraft not been there, Davidson most likely would have bled to death, Dube said.
Dube, citing the incident, urged boaters to use a kill switch, a device that turns off the engine when an operator falls overboard.
"You're not legally required to have one, but they're a very good safety precaution," he said. "Lucky for this man these people were out there to help him. They saved his life."
Angelfish Creek connects Card Sound with the Atlantic Ocean.
