DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When a car plowed through a beach toll booth heading straight for the crowds and water in Daytona Beach on Sunday, lifeguard Damien Curry was sitting in his tower chair.
“I was standing my water and happened to look behind my tower and I see the car smack into the tollbooth. Tollbooth exploded. I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ I’m looking at it and the car’s coming at me,” Curry said.
[TRENDING: Ask Trooper Steve: Is it against Florida law to leave your car keys in the ignition? | No more Fairy Godmothers-in-Training: Disney changes title for men working at dress-up shops | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Curry, who’s been lifeguarding in Volusia County for four years, recounted the moment from Sunday afternoon.
Surveillance video from nearby hotels showed the white car barrel through the toll booth and head straight for his chair.
“Glass was shattered, it’s smoking, it’s coming at me and I’m like (flailing) and it just barely misses me. I mean it was within a couple feet of hitting my tower,” he said.
Beach Patrol officers said the driver had some sort of medical emergency after crossing the International Speedway bridge. They said he went through the tollbooth, that luckily no one was in, before he crashed into the ocean, hitting a 5-year-old child playing in the water.
“I throw my radio down, throw my flag down, I just sprint out there and I’m like I have never dealt with anything like this before,” he said.
Curry was first to the car followed by a group of Good Samaritans.
“A mob of people are trying to bring it back so it’s not going out deep,” he said.
Curry got the two children in the back out and their mother in the passenger front seat then went to help the driver.
“I’m unbuckling this guy, the driver and I’m getting buzzed, like the car’s like short-circuiting,” he said.
Beach Patrol said the driver was taken to the hospital for testing and the passengers were taken as a precaution.
The 5-year-old’s father told News 6 he was released from the hospital Monday night after getting a multitude of stitches.
As for Curry, the accident left a lasting impression but said it shows the wide range of situations a lifeguard may have to respond to at any point.
“Anything goes in that water, I’m going to go after it,” he said.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: