Boating accident leaves 2 teens critically injured | Daytona Beach ...
Swimming and boating are common springtime activities on Florida lakes and canals. The springtime increase in?water sporting activities?also increases the amount of reported personal injuries from swimming and boating accidents.
Two Palm Bay teenage boys, ages 19 and 14, were hospitalized on Thursday after a boating accident on a northeast Palm Bay neighborhood lake. Witnesses at the scene saw the boat capsize after a boy jumped out of the canoe, a Palm Bay Police Department spokesperson said.
"He's a good boy, very quiet and a decent boy," a neighbor said of the 19-year-old. "I've never seen him go over there. I can't imagine why he went out there. Usually the people who go out on the lake are not from around here."
The police spokesperson said that the Palm Bay police officers and dive teams arrived at the scene and tried to save the teens and a third young man who tried to rescue them, Florida Today reports.
"They may have been under water for 5 or 6 minutes," the spokeswoman said.
Responding officers found one of the teens on the lake shore and began CPR once discovering that the teen was not breathing. Dive team members then jumped into the lake to rescue the second teen and a 23-year-old neighbor who rescued teenager who officers found on the shore.
The police spokeswoman said that the 23-year-old experienced problems during his second rescue attempt. He was in good condition at Palm Bay Hospital on Thursday.
The two teens were rushed to Wuesthoff Medical Center and Palm Bay Hospital for treatment, Florida Today reports. One of the teens was subsequently airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.
Source: Florida Today, "2 teens critical after canoe tips over on Palm Bay lake," Britt Kennerly, J.D. Gallop, 3/24/11