CRESCENT CITY, Fla. – A man died in a boating accident on Crescent Lake Friday morning, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told News4JAX.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said the accident happened near Bear Island around 6:42 a.m. Firefighters said units were responding to the scene of the accident.
A person called 911 and said they heard people yelling for help in the water, but was too far away to see the accident.
The FWC said two boats, each with one occupant on board, were traveling on Crescent Lake when they collided, ejecting both occupants into the water.
The two were recovered from the water by nearby boaters and Putnam County Fire Rescue transported a man to a nearby hospital, but it is unclear if he died in transport or at the hospital.
Mark Turner gave CPR to the victim and he described the incident.
“We were out in front getting ready to launch our boat and fish and we heard a loud crash and my fishing partner. It’s actually his boat he said that was a crash, I think so and then a second later he said to hear somebody screaming for help so we dropped the boat in the water and went out there and there was two guys floating in the water and one of them was unresponsive and we dragged him into the boat,” Turner said.
Turner said they tried to give CPR to the man but he appeared dead already.
The Crescent City boat ramp will “likely” be closed for an undetermined amount of time, officials said.
This is a developing story. Come back for more updates.