DESTIN — Two people were injured Tuesday morning when their personal watercraft crashed into a piling under the Marler Bridge.
The watercraft was driven by 60-year-old Ivan Cabrera of Plaquemine, La., said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Brady Creighton, a boy who also lives in Plaquemine, was a passenger.
The FWC on Wednesday was still investigating the accident, which occurred about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, Morse said.
A Destin Fire Control District lifeguard responded to the wreck on his own watercraft, Fire Chief Kevin Sasser said. Creighton had been picked up by a pontoon boat and taken to the Coast Guard station.
Cabrera was still in the water when the lifeguard arrived. He was conscious but unable to move, Sasser said. He was stabilized on a backboard and taken on a Destin fire boat to the Coast Guard station.
Both patients were taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.
Cabrera was still in the intensive care unit Wednesday afternoon, according to the hospital.
Creighton had been treated and released, Morse said.
Dwight Lande heard the crash from his condominium and called 911. He noticed saw a number of pontoon boats around the bridge but wasn’t sure what had happened.
“I just heard people in the water asking for help,” Lande said.
FWC spokeswoman Joy Hill said personal watercrafts don’t operate like vehicles in that there are no brakes. Anyone unfamiliar with a watercraft should get some training before operating one, she said.
Many boating accidents are simply the result of someone not paying attention, Hill said.
“They’re not toys,” Hill said. “They look like big toys, but they can quickly turn dangerous for you, other boaters and others on the vessel.”
Daily News Assignment Editor Wendy Victora contributed to this report.
Correction: Creighton did not lose consciousness after the accident.
