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Boat Crashes Into Shore At Haulover, 1 Airlifted

MIAMI (CBS4) -- Five would-be sailors ran aground Saturday, sending their boat careening into shore and injuring one man.

"We were coming down the channel and we hit a big wake. The boat just lost control and we came up right up here," said Kevin Ruckle, a survivor of the crash.

The boat came to rest completely out of the water atop park benches and a picnic table at Haulover Park, 10800 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, shortly after 3 p.m.

Ruckle says Sean Patnik, 21, was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami with injuries. Patnik's father, the driver of the boat, tells CBS4 News he was showing off and being competitive with another boater when he hit a wake and lost control of the boat.

"It's not everyday you see a boat out of water like that, with people on board. One minute they're on the water, one minute they're on the land," said Captain Eric Baum of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

The four other passengers in the boat were treated and released at the scene of the crash, Baum said, adding that had Saturday been a holiday then this accident could have been more severe, as the picnic table and benches frequently are crowded with families enjoying the waterfront.

Eliot Dibuongrazio, owner of the Haulover Marina service department says he believes the boat is totaled and offers some advice for South Florida boaters.

"Try to go a little bit slower whenever you have a lot of boats in the water, main canals, not to go too close to the shore, and you have to know your boat very well," said Dibuongrazio.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is investigating the crash.

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