ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A man who was on the Matanzas River in St. Augustine Thursday night and witnessed what proved to be a deadly boat crash shared his harrowing account with News4JAX.
Jorge Carbato said he called for help around 9:30 p.m. after hearing a boat slam into a piling between the Bridge of Lions and the 312 Bridge. The crash sent two people overboard.
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Carbato said at first, he thought what he heard was a car crash on the Bridge of Lions.
“I heard a motor, and then I realized I didn’t hear the sound anymore. Within a few seconds, I started hearing someone calling for help. I called 911 immediately,” Carbato said.
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Carbato said he got on his boat and turned his spotlight on the crash scene. He saw wreckage among a couple of pilings in the water as the damaged boat’s lights sank below the surface.
After he spotted one of the boaters from the crash, Carbato said he kept his light on him until help arrived.
“I heard the guy yelling the whole time. I didn’t know there was another person on board,” Carbato said.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officials said one of the boaters was rescued from the water, but the other was found dead after a multi-agency search.
Carbato said he visits Fish Island Marina in St. Augustine to go out on his boat almost every day. He said he knows how dangerous the water can be, and Thursday’s crash proved it.
“My condolences to the family and those involved,” Carbato said. “This is a very dark waterway. There’s a lot of curves or some congestion there. There’s a lot of traffic through here.”
The exact cause of the crash is still unknow, but the FWC says the investigation is still active.
The boater rescued from the water was taken to a hospital for treatment.