STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — What began as a day on the water at Mariner Cay turned into a dramatic rescue after a man in an electric wheelchair fell off a dock and into the water Sunday morning.
Deputies said the incident happened just after 10 a.m. as a father was loading his wheelchair-bound son onto a boat when a passing vessel created a wake, rocking the boat and causing the ramp to collapse.
The man in the wheelchair fell into the water.
Bystanders jumped in to help, tying ropes around the wheelchair to keep the man’s head above water as Martin County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit deputies and fire rescue crews responded.
Body camera footage captured the tense moments.
Deputy Mark Appler arrived in about 90 seconds after receiving the call for help.
Deputies and fire rescue initially tried lifting the man out of the water with his wheelchair, but that proved to be too heavy. The chair alone weighs 230 pounds.
Rescuers also realized the man’s harness was creating another danger.
“We started realizing that the top harness that he had was still holding him in and started to choke him a little bit,” Appler said.
With time critical, Patrol Deputy Sam Oliver jumped into the water.
In body camera footage, someone can be heard directing, “Sam — jump on their boat, jump, jump off the other side, and come around the back.”
“With him not being able to speak to use to articulate how he was feeling – we knew urgency was the best route there,” Deputy Oliver explained.
Deputies unstrapped the man, put him in a life vest, and secured him to a backboard.
“And [we] realized our best option was — due to the height of the dock — was going to be to swim him to the shore,” said Deputy Oliver.
The man was then hoisted out of the water.
Despite the chaos, deputies said the man remained in good spirits.
“The son kinda smiled, and the father said, ‘ What are you smiling for?'” laughed Deputy Appler. “It lightened the situation and made everybody relax and more calm because we knew our jobs and what we had to do,”
Deputies said this rescue was a first for the marine unit and one they will learn from.
The man in the wheelchair had minor cuts and bruises and is expected to be okay.
Deputy Appler secured a rope to hold it in place while additional deputies responded, per MCSO.
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Wheelchair-bound man rescued after dock ramp collapses at Mariner Cay marina