Heroic deckhand rescues Jet Ski rider after crash

A Jet Ski rider was recently involved in a horrific collision with a speedboat off the coast of Saint Barthélemy, France, causing him to fall into the water whilst unconscious.

21-year-old deckhand, Ryan Rivenburgh, witnessed the crash and instinctively went to help. Luckily, he was aboard the nearby 48-metre (157-foot) M/Y Rebel, and was able to dive in to rescue the rider quickly. He had jumped onto his own personal watercraft in rush to help.

Rivenburgh explained, “I took my phone out, threw the hat off and dove down in the water."

The victim of the horrific incident was musician Mike Higbee who, because of the collision, was unconscious and bleeding, but alive.  

Higbee elaborated on how he felt during the accident, “I don’t remember the impact, but I do remember having a sinking feeling of like, ‘this is happening’.”

On impact, Higbee, had suffered a 10-centimetre sever to his head and six fractured vertebrae.

Rivenburgh added, "A couple people I remember seeing had thought that we were fishing out a non-living person.”

The men from the boat who had hit Higbee helped Rivenburgh pull him out of the water and urgently rushed to shore.

Higbee remembers feeling like he wasn’t going to make it, and said, “Please tell my wife and kids I love them” to Rivenburgh after being saved. Luckily, he is due to make a full recovery, and has finally had chance to thank Rivenburgh for saving his life.

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Source: Hawaii News Now