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Volusia County fisherman rescues boaters involved in crash on Halifax River

2 boaters injured after crashing into channel marker near Port Orange Bridge

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A Volusia County fisherman said he was in the right place at the right time when he helped save a man and a woman after their boat crashed into a channel marker.

The fisherman, Audie Morris, said he was getting ready to head home Wednesday night, when his instincts told him to go in a different direction.

“I was getting ready to head in and something told me to head to the south sandbars,” Morris said. “I heard a really, really faint ‘help, help.’”

Morris said he saw a woman fighting to stay above water.

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“I looked over and I saw a faint light. What saved her was she had a flashlight with a lanyard on her wrist, and I kept seeing the flashlight and it would go under the water,” said Morris.

He called 911 as he worked to rescued two people who were hurt from the crash.

Volusia County Sheriff’s Office investigators said two people were traveling in a boat at a high rate of speed and only using a flashlight for guidance when they crashed into a channel marker south of the Port Orange Bridge after 11:30 p.m.

Morris showed News 6 the boat that he used to rescue them from the Halifax River not far from the Port Orange Causeway.

“She was way out there. I said ‘grab hold of it, and when she did that’s where I pulled her right over to the side of the boat here,” said Morris.

He said he found the man a few yards away barely conscious.

“We pull up to the boat and there was blood everywhere. His whole face was split open,” Morris said.

He was able to get them both safely to the boat ramp before medics took them to the hospital.

“I had like eight officers walk up to me and say, ‘If you weren’t there, they’d be dead,’” said Morris. “The fact that the lord put me in the right place at the right time.”

The two boaters were taken to the hospital and officials have not released their names or their latest condition.

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials said this should be a reminder to be safe out on the water.


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