Florida deputy makes leap of faith to stop unmanned runaway boat
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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — You can rest assured there were no major motion picture cameras rolling when a Pinellas County deputy pulled a daring stunt that could otherwise come straight out of a Mission Impossible movie.
On Sunday, July 30, Pinellas County Deputy Fernandes and Deputy Constant, with the Marine and Environmental Lands Unit, were called to help the United States Coast Guard with a runaway vessel.
The sheriff’s office said the driver had fallen into the water but was rescued by a Good Samaritan. Left without its driver, the boat kept its course, speeding away uninterrupted.
The Coast Guard attempted to deploy several prop fowling devices to stop the vessel but were ultimately unsuccessful.
That’s when the deputies hatched a plan.
Deputy Constant intercepted the runaway vessel along the inside curve as the center console hit speeds just over 40 mph. The maneuver allowed Deputy Fernandes to leap aboard and take control of the vessel.
Just in case you were wondering, “yes, Deputy Fernandes does his own stunts,” the sheriff’s office joked, adding that boat operators should always connect their kill switch lanyards.
