Drunk boater arrested after crashing into Naples dock

Law enforcement arrested a 39-year-old man for driving a boat that crashed into a Naples dock while drunk.

Lee Memorial nurse Doug Smith was nearby, working inside the home connected to the dock when he heard a loud crash and rushed outside to see what happened.

Smith saw a woman, the passenger on the boat, pinned between a boat and a boat lift. That’s when his instinct to help took over.

“As we were pushing it from one direction to another, it would get worse,” Smith said. “It would tighten on her and she would scream, ‘Ah, it’s getting worse. I can’t breathe.”

Eventually, the woman was able to wiggle herself free.

Smith says she was short of breath and in a lot of pain. Florida Fish and Wildlife says medics airlifted her to Lee Memorial.

“She kept saying there was another person in the boar, who I didn’t see anywhere,” Smith said.

Smith says the driver came to the dock on another boat and told him he hit a wake going very fast, was ejected and the boat lost control.

“Thinking at any point that thing could’ve slipped down a little further, and really crushed her, definitely a scary experience for her and for me,” Smith said.

Naples Police Department says the boat that crashed is a rental.

This is a developing story. Trust WINK News to provide more details when they become available.