ST. CLOUD, Fla. – A man was seriously injured in a personal watercraft explosion at St. Cloud Lakefront Park’s boat basin, according to city officials.
St. Cloud officials said St. Cloud Fire rescue responded Sunday afternoon to the park, where they found a man in his 50s seriously injured.
The man was treated by fire rescue and later taken to a trauma center.
An investigation is ongoing, and “the cause for the explosion was not immediately apparent.”
“I stepped down to where my feet were in the water and I helped pull the guy out,” said Freddy Hernandez, who spoke to News 6 on Monday.
In a video recorded by a witness, Hernandez and several other people can be seen pulling the man up the boat ramp.
“It’s just amazing how the community came together,” said Jenny Anzures, who took the video obtained by News 6. “They just did what needed to be done.”
Anzures and her father were coming into the boat basin when she said they heard an explosion.
“It was like a cannon went off,” she recounted.
Hernandez was working at a nearby restaurant.
“I just put my stuff down that was in my hand,” he said. “I stopped talking to the table I was with, and I ran over here.”
Hernandez said as he ran, he dialed 911. After he relayed the pertinent information to dispatchers, he hung up and helped pull the man to safety.
“He had bleeding under his chin, so I looked underneath his shirt and I made sure there wasn’t bleeding anywhere else,” he said. “And after that I just went back to work.”
When News 6 arrived at the Saint Cloud Lakefront Park on Monday, the man’s truck and trailer, holding the damaged watercraft, could be seen in the parking lot.
The man’s family later arrived to retrieve his truck. While they declined to appear on camera, they did tell News 6 that he suffered a couple of fractures and is expected make a full recovery.
No other information was released.
