HAMMOND, Ind. – U.S. Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor and a good samaritan rescued two teenagers after they were ejected from their jet ski a half-mile offshore Indiana Harbor Saturday at approximately 5:45 p.m.
A good samaritan arrived on scene first in a cabin cruiser and brought the male and female aboard for delivery to a nearby Station Calumet Harbor 41-foot utility boat (UTB) crew, which was conducting training with two other station small boat crews and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“When we showed up, we transferred the male with our stokes litter; he was in shock, and we put a Type I personal floatation device on the female,” said Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Andrew Voakes, 41-footer coxswain. Apparently, they were not wearing life jackets when they fell off the jet ski.
The station transported the two teenagers to awaiting Emergency Medical Services at Hammond Marina.
EMS took the pair to St. Margaret Mercy Hospital.
The two were riding on a jet ski side-by-side with another jet ski when the wake from a wave ejected them into the water shortly after 5 p.m.
The law states you must have a personal floatation device on board, but the Coast Guard recommends all recreational boaters and water enthusiasts to wear a PFD at all times, whether on the boat or in the water It is much more difficult to locate, access or don a PFD at the moment an accident occurs.
Additional information on life jackets (PFDs), can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/fedreqs/equ_pfd.htm
