'Not on my watch:' Hubbard's Marina employee saves drowning man's life off Shell Key
SHELL KEY, Fla. - An employee with a boat tour agency at Madeira Beach sprang into action on Wednesday to save a life when a man on one of their tours stopped breathing.
A familiar face to FOX 13, Captain Dylan Hubbard, said First Mate Braelyn Hines with Hubbard's Marina saved a man who nearly drowned off Shell Key in Pinellas County.
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Braelyn told Capt. Hubbard she was out on a self-guided three-hour tour with a recently engaged man who was with his fiancée and her family.
"Equipped with a snorkel and mask, he ventured into the crystalline waters, unaware that his lack of experience with snorkeling would soon lead to a dramatic turn of events," the marina wrote in a Facebook post.
After the man dipped beneath the surface, his snorkel quickly filled with water, and he flailed in the water, unknowingly swimming away from the shore, the marina reported.
Once his fiancée and her family noticed, he was lifeless and drifting in the water. They quickly dragged his unresponsive body back to the shore and called for help, which is when Braelyn stepped in.
Hines, a seasoned lifeguard, sprinted towards the commotion and knelt beside the man, assessing the situation. According to the marina, she found his pulse ‘faint and erratic' and initiated a sternum rub, a technique meant to provoke a response but found none.
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She then tried to elicit a gag reflex from the man by inserting her fingers into his throat - still nothing. Then, the man's pulse stopped altogether.
Braelyn then began to perform CPR as his soon-to-be family watched on in tense silence. Finally, she detected a weak heartbeat. She then tilted his head back, pinched his nose, and began rescue breaths.
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Minutes later, the young man coughed and sputtered, expelling water from his lungs. He took a deep breath and, after what felt like eternity, began to breathe normally.
"The guests of Hubbard's Marina witnessed more than just the natural beauty of Shell Key that day. They saw bravery, quick thinking, and the life-saving skills of First Mate Braelyn Hines. The young man, grateful and humbled, would forever remember the heroism that turned a day of potential tragedy into one of profound gratitude," the marina wrote.