Florida deputies rescue nonverbal man on wheelchair from water after ramp collapse
NEWS AT 11 TOMORROW NIGHT. IN OTHER NEWS TONIGHT, MARTIN COUNTY DEPUTIES TAKE DRAMATIC ACTION TO SAVE THE LIFE OF A MAN WITH DISABILITIES WHO FELL OFF A DOCK INTO THE WATER WHILE STRAPPED INTO HIS WHEELCHAIR. REPORTER ARI HAIT TALKED WITH HIS DEPUTIES, WHO ADMITTED THIS WAS THE KIND OF DANGEROUS SITUATION THEY HAD NEVER FACED BEFORE. LET ME SET THIS UP FOR YOU. SUNDAY MORNING AROUND 10 A.M., A MAN IN HIS 30S, CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR, CAN’T MOVE HIS LEGS, CAN’T MOVE HIS HANDS. HE’S NONVERBAL. HIS FATHER IS WHEELING HIM ONTO A BOAT WHEN THE RAMP COLLAPSES. THE MAN ON THE WHEELCHAIR FALLS ON THE WATER. IT HAPPENED AT A MARINA JUST ACROSS THE WATER. HERE, THE MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PARKED THEIR BOATS RIGHT HERE. THE FIRST DEPUTY WAS ON SCENE IN ABOUT 90S. WE JUST GOT TO GET HIM OUT OF THE WATER. THIS IS VIDEO FROM THE BODY CAMERA OF A MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY. YOU CAN SEE THE MAN IN THE WATER STRAPPED TO A WHEELCHAIR WITH A NUMBER OF GOOD SAMARITANS SURROUNDING HIM, HOLDING HIM ABOVE THE SURFACE, ALL IN SHOCK AT FIRST, WHERE YOU REALIZE, LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS FOR REAL, WE NEED TO ACT. DEPUTY MARK ADLER WAS THE FIRST DEPUTY ON SCENE. WE LEARNED A WEIGHED ABOUT 130 POUNDS. THE WHEELCHAIR ITSELF WEIGHED 230 POUNDS. AND BEING THAT THING WAS WET WAS MAKING EVERYTHING A LITTLE HEAVIER. FIRST PLAN USE A ROPE TO PULL THE MAN AND THE CHAIR OUT OF THE WATER, BUT THE STRAP CONNECTING THE MAN TO THE CHAIR MADE THAT IMPOSSIBLE. THE TOP HARNESS THAT HE HAD WAS STILL HOLDING HIM IN, AND THEN STARTED TO KIND OF CHOKE HIM A LITTLE BIT. SO WE LOWER HIM BACK TO THE WATER LEVEL TO REASSESS OUR NEXT APPROACH. THAT’S ABOUT WHEN DEPUTY SAM OLIVER ARRIVED. IT’S PRETTY INSTINCTUAL. LIKE I SAID ONCE, ONCE I GOT THERE, I SAW THE URGENCY AND JUST JUMPED IN WITH HIM NOT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK TO US TO ARTICULATE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HOW HE WAS FEELING. YOU KNOW, WE KNEW URGENCY WAS, WAS WAS THE BEST ROUTE THERE. SO NEXT PLAN UNHARNESSED THE MAN FROM THE CHAIR AND USE A LIFE VEST TO PUT THIS UNDERNEATH HIM. YEAH. I’M A LITTLE BUOYANT TO KEEP HIM ABOVE THE WATER. MARTIN COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PROVIDED A BACKBOARD AND DEPUTY OLIVER SWAM THE MAN TO SHORE, WHERE THEY LIFTED HIM TO DRY LAND, LIFTED HIM TO SAFETY. HE HAD A FEW SCRAPES AND BRUISES BUT WAS MOSTLY UNINJURED. THE DEPUTIES HAD A STORY TO TELL AND A LESSON LEARNED. ALWAYS BE PREPARED BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. TO ABSOLUTELY NOBODY’S SURPRISE, THE DEPUTIES SAY THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY’VE HAD TO RESCUE A MAN IN A WHEELCHAIR FROM THE WATER. IT’S NOT EXACTLY SOMETHING THEY TRAINED FOR, BUT THEY SAY THEY WILL BE BETTER PREPARED FOR THIS.
Florida deputies rescue nonverbal man on wheelchair from water after ramp collapse
Updated: 11:44 AM EDT Mar 10, 2026
Martin County deputies sprang into action to help a nonverbal man in a wheelchair after a ramp collapsed on Sunday, according to reports from WPBF.The man, who was identified as being in his 30s, is unable to move his legs and is confined to a wheelchair, according to deputies. WBPF explained that the victim was sent into the water when the ramp used to wheel him onto a boat suddenly collapsed.The video captures the moment when Good Samaritans held him above water as he remained strapped into his wheelchair.Once deputies arrived on scene, they decided to unharness the man from the chair and use a life vest to keep him buoyant. Martin County Fire Rescue provided a backboard, and a deputy swam the man to shore. That’s when they lifted him to dry land and safety. Despite a few scrapes and bruises, the man was mostly uninjured, according to WPBF.
MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. —
Martin County deputies sprang into action to help a nonverbal man in a wheelchair after a ramp collapsed on Sunday, according to reports from WPBF.
The man, who was identified as being in his 30s, is unable to move his legs and is confined to a wheelchair, according to deputies.
WBPF explained that the victim was sent into the water when the ramp used to wheel him onto a boat suddenly collapsed.
The video captures the moment when Good Samaritans held him above water as he remained strapped into his wheelchair.
Once deputies arrived on scene, they decided to unharness the man from the chair and use a life vest to keep him buoyant.
Martin County Fire Rescue provided a backboard, and a deputy swam the man to shore. That’s when they lifted him to dry land and safety.
Despite a few scrapes and bruises, the man was mostly uninjured, according to WPBF.