OCEAN CITY, Md. - A boater was hurt Sunday afternoon after being struck by a propeller in the North Sinepuxent Bay speed zone, according to the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company.
Shortly before 4 p.m., a mayday distress call came over VHF Channel 16 reporting the injury. Ocean City Fire Boat 1, which was nearby conducting training, arrived within minutes to find a Good Samaritan boat that had already pulled the injured person from the water and started first aid.
Fire department emergency medical technicians and paramedics transferred the patient onto Fire Boat 1 and began advanced life-saving procedures while staying alongside the boat involved in the accident.
Pictured is the crew training during the distress call. (OCVFC)
Maryland Natural Resources Police and the United States Coast Guard also responded to the scene. Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 4 was called in to assist with medical transport.
OCVFC said Fire Boat 1 took the patient to the U.S. Coast Guard Station Ocean City, where the person was moved to an Ocean City ambulance for continued care until Trooper 4 arrived.
“This is one of several serious trauma calls our Fire Boat has intercepted recently while out training,” said Lieutenant Jeff Apperance, Fire Boat Commander. “Our personnel train continuously to ensure that our visitors receive high-quality care, no matter the type of emergency, on land or on the water.”
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Natural Resources Police are investigating the accident.
