FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A 55-year-old man died Wednesday after falling off a boat near a Fernandina Beach boat ramp.
Anthony Rankin and another man had just launched their boat at the Goffinsville Nassau River Boat Ramp, and Ranking was waiting in the boat as his friend parked their trailer, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker said.
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Parker said Rankin gave the boat too much throttle and fell off. He was initially hanging onto the boat's side as it moved in circles, but he eventually lost his grip and went underwater.
“He held on as long as he could, but eventually, it was too much,” FWC Lt. Tony Wright told the Fernandina Beach News Leader.
Two other people pulled Rankin ashore and began CPR, but he was pronounced dead a short time later at Baptist Medical Center Nassau.
Rankin was a Yulee resident. The name of the second boater was not released Wednesday.