Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman[FONT=luxi-sans-1]Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman[SIZE=4][SIZE=5][/SIZE][/SIZE]
ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – A Coast Guard boatcrew from Station Ponce de Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., medically evacuated an injured fisherman near Ormond Beach, Fla., Saturday morning.[/FONT]
Medevaced is Clint Owens, 41, of Townsend, Ga.
Someone aboard the 105-foot fishing vessel Sea Angels, homeported in Beaufort, N.C., used a VHF-FM marine radio to notify Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Fla., watchstanders at 7 a.m. Owens became injured after he was struck in the head with part of the vessel’s rigging equipment. The crewman reported Owens had short-term memory loss, a laceration, severe neck pain and a jaw injury.
A Coast Guard boatcrew and three Volusia County EMTs immediately launched aboard a 45-foot Response Boat – Medium from Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon Inlet. Once on scene, two of the EMTs immobilized Owens and, with the help of one Coast Guardsman, transferred him to the RB-M.
They took him to Station Ponce de Leon Inlet were additional EMTs were waiting. He was then transferred by helicopter to a local hospital. His current condition is unknown.
The Coast Guard urges all boaters to use a VHF-FM marine radio as a primary means of on-water communication. VHF radios are more reliable than cell phones in the marine environment and usually work in areas where cell phone signal is spotty or non-existent. Additionally, VHF transmissions are broadcasts, versus the one-to-one communication of cell phones, meaning other boaters nearby may hear the transmission and render assistance before response agencies arrive.