‘The alligator was right there’: 10 rescued after airboat overturns in Everglades National Park; operator arrested

By KATHLEEN DITTON, KEVIN BOULANDIER, NICOLE LINSALATA

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    WEST MIAMI-DADE, Florida (WSVN) — A good Samaritan came to the rescue of multiple passengers on board an airboat after, officials said, the vessel overturned near Everglades National Park in West Miami-Dade, leading to the arrest of its operator.

Hip-deep in the swampy waters was not exactly the way these visitors wanted to experience the river of grass, Friday afternoon.

Cellphone video captured the passengers wading through the water.

“Do you guys see a phone, buy any chance?” a woman said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units arrived at The Original Airboat Tour, located in the area of 22700 SW 8th St., in the Coopertown area, just after 2 p.m.

Investigators said the boat’s operator and nine passengers were on board when it turned suddenly, causing everyone to fall into the water.

One of the passengers, Jose Maldonado, told 7News he had been taking some friends and family members visiting from out of town, some from Puerto Rico, out on the boat to look for alligators.

At some point, Maldonado said, the person operating the airboat made a “hard turn.”

“All of a sudden, the captain wanted to make a U-turn, sort of on the water, so we could get a better picture of the crocodile, and the boat just flipped on its side,” he said, “and we were all in the water, and we were all screaming because the alligator was right there.”

After the boat flipped, someone could be heard on a cellphone video recording saying, “I’m sorry about that. I was kind of turning. Water started getting in the back, so I gassed it.”

Juan Carlos Negro, who is visiting from Puerto Rico, said he was left with scratches.

Speaking through a translator, Negro said that when the boat tipped over, he was afraid the alligators were going to come.

When asked whether or not the alligator swam away, Maldonado replied, “I think so. I think he was probably more scared of us than we were of him.”

Passengers tried to flip the boat over, but it was too heavy. Fortunately, they said, they weren’t in the water too long, 10 to 15 minutes.

Good Samaritan David Gonzalez happened to come by with his airboat and picked them up.

“We had room, because it was a private tour, so we had a lot of space,” said Gonzalez.

“We’ve been here before, these guys are good, they’re professional. This doesn’t happen often,” said Maldonado. “We said, ‘Let’s do this,’ took a day off from work. Maybe we should have stayed at work.”

Hours later, cameras captured officials with FWC taking the boat’s operator into custody.

Officials said the operator, an employee of Coopertown Airboat Rides, was arrested and taken to jail for having neither proof of completion of a boating safety course nor a captain’s license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The business shut down for the rest of the day so employees could focus on towing the water-logged boat back to the dock.

Fire rescue crews rendered aid to one person on land. That person was not transported to the hospital.

As of late Friday night, authorities have not released the name of the boat’s operator, as they continue to investigate.

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