WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - An elderly man is thanking a lifeguard for saving his life after a large wave tossed him overboard and flipped his boat upside down.
Waves in Palm Beach County flipped over a boat, nearly ending the life of the 77-year-old on Monday afternoon.
Ocean rescue crews responded to the capsized boat about 200 yards offshore.
Witnesses nearby looked on in disbelief as two lifeguards jumped into action to save the man.
“I saw a guy going out on his boat. Maybe a 20-footer, his boat flipped, a wave hit him,” said Marty, who witnessed the boat flipping over. “A wave hit him, lifted him up, another wave hit and turned him upside down.”
One of those lifeguards, John Bibbo, detailed his heroic rescue.
“I was in the center tower and radioed the other guys and hopped on my rescue board,” said Bibbo. “I was hoping he wasn’t stuck under the boat. I was hoping that he wasn’t all chopped up.”
Drone video shows the overturned boat and lifeguards lifting a man to safety.
Ocean rescue crews said the victim lost his hearing aids when the boat flipped, so he was unable to hear their safety commands.
In addition, they said the boater wasn’t wearing a life vest, not even one with a “kill switch” that would shut off the vessel’s motor in case of an emergency.
“When you’re by yourself, and you fall out, the motor can still run and run you over. If he had had the kill switch, the motor could’ve stopped right away,” explained Bibbo.
Luckily, the victim only suffered minor injuries.
Bibbo said he was happy to see the man doing just fine.
“Very relieved to see that he was hanging on the boat, and he was waving and had no major life-threatening injuries,” he said.
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