CHIEFLAND, Fla. – A Chiefland woman was struck by a jumping sturgeon Saturday afternoon while she and her family were boating on the Suwannee River near Manatee Springs State Park.
Brianne Megargel, 32, was with her husband, 42-year-old Stephen Megargel, and his 10-year-old son, Grayson, traveling north at about 25 mph in their 17-foot open boat when the accident happened, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators.
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They said the sturgeon jumped out of the water and struck Brianne, who was sitting on the starboard side of the boat. The fish knocked her unconscious, and the impact knocked her out of the boat, officials said. Witnesses reported that the fish was about 60 to 70 pounds, investigators said.
Stephen jumped into the water to rescue her, while his son operated the 1998 Silver King vessel, investigators said. The two of them got her back on the boat and brought her to Manatee Springs State Park.
Brianne was flown to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville with multiple injuries.
This is the second reported sturgeon encounter this year. The first occurred near Rock Bluff on May 11, when an Old Town man was injured when he collided with a sturgeon that had jumped out of the Suwannee River in front of his boat, officials said.
The FWC is investigating the accident.