RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Cellphone video captured the moments a Florida paraglider plummeted about 500 feet into the water off the coast of a Palm Beach County beach. Rescue teams said he was lucky to walk away with his life.
Witnesses can be heard with panic in their voices on Friday after seeing the victim fall into the water near Ocean View Park in Riviera Beach.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” a person can be heard saying in the footage.
“When I heard the number, I was actually quite blown away. Five hundred feet is an incredible thing to survive,” lifeguard Sarah Williamson said.
Williamson, a lifeguard with Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue, was scanning the waters on Friday when she noticed something in the sky.
“I noticed the paraglider kind of going in an interesting pattern,” she said.
Williamson watched the motorized paraglider lose control after the victim hit a wind gust.
“I just started running, and I radioed to my partner, grabbed our rescue board and rescue tube, and paddled out in tandem,” she said.
As Williamson and her partner swam toward the paraglider, frantic calls came in to the local police department.
“911 Police,” said a dispatcher.
“Yeah, I just saw someone fall out of the sky,” said a person.
“Did they fall from a building?” said the dispatcher.
“No, they fell from like a flying thing. A parasail. They fell like 500 feet from the sky,” said the person.
As witnesses waited for first responders to arrive, Williamson and her partner caught up with the paraglider.
“Once I got out there, and I saw that he was above water, and not drowning and alive, I was so proud to just get out there and bring him back in, because it could be so much worse,” she said.
Williamson said she credits a nearby snorkeler who was diving nearby for freeing the man from the line.
“He was a godsend, because we did not have a mask, and he was able to get underwater and free the man while we secured him in a rescue tube,” she said.
After he was free and secure, Williamson and her partner brought the paraglider back to shore. Police had already arrived to assist the group.
“Hitting the water at that speed, from that height, we know it could have ended much differently than it did. So we are very fortunate,” said Riviera Beach Police Acting Major Glen Meyer.
Meyer said he had never seen anything like it in his 19 years on the force.
Williamson said the paraglider looked like he was doing well.
“He was pretty full of adrenaline, and he was in shock, a little bit, from the whole thing,” Williamson said.
Meyer agreed.
“We were expecting serious injuries when we arrived based on how the call went out. To see him up and walking was remarkable to say the least. This is the first time we have seen anything like this,” said Meyer.
Police body camera video shows the moment the paraglider returns to the ground. The man was shaken up, but thankful that he suffered no significant injuries, not even to his waterlogged cellphone.
Williamson said an event like this serves as a reminder to stay visible because when accidents happen, seconds matter.
“Fly near a lifeguard, swim near a lifeguard, always be near safety,” she said.
Officials said the paraglider was wearing a helmet at the time and, thankfully, only suffered a few cuts and scrapes.
Police credit lifeguards, first responders, and witnesses for helping bring the paraglider back to shore safely.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.