SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A snorkeler taking part in the lobster mini-season was critically injured after he was struck by a vessel in the Florida Keys.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were dispatched to Boca Chica Bridge after reports of a single-vessel accident involving a snorkeler at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
“They were at the bridge. He hit them right there at the bridge,” said a deputy.
The snorkeler, Sean Steven Bender, was snorkeling under the Boca Chica Bridge in the Lower Keys when he was struck. The vessel’s propeller severed his arm and cut his head and neck.
“His arms mangled, his arms mangled,” said a family member to first responders.
Bodycam video shows deputies and first responders working to rescue Bender with family members by his side.
“Bad, bad head injury. Bad arm injury. Neck arms torn up, necks cut, head open. He needs medevac ASAP [Bender moaning in pain],” said a first responder.
“Stay with us Sean, stay with us,” said a family member.
First responders applied a tourniquet to Bender’s mangled arm to stop the bleeding.
“Buddy, buddy, what’s your name? Talk to me, my man,” said a first responder.
“Stay with me, Sean. Sean, stay with me,” said a family member.
“Stay with me,” said a deputy. “We need to get a tourniquet on there.”
Family members talked to Bender as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
“I love you, you’re going to be just fine,” said a family member.
Bender was brought ashore at the Key Haven boat ramp. His father was seen on video devastated and greeted with hugs as he watched his son be placed into an ambulance.
The snorkeler was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center and is in critical condition.
A family friend told 7News that Bender’s arm was severed by the vessel’s propeller, but doctors were able to successfully reattach it.
According to FWC, the snorkeler is from Central Florida but was in town to participate in the two-day lobster mini-season.
The event has been beset with a number of incidents, like vessels capsizing and a family of 13 having to be rescued from a sinking vessel.
No one was injured in these incidents, according to the FWC.
Bender’s family is asking for privacy at this time.
Officials are investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.
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