FWC helicopter stops suspected DUI boater from hitting swimmers

THE FLORIDA KEYS, Fla. (WFLA) — Officials potentially saved several lives after stopping a boat from hitting a group of swimmers in the Florida Keys over the weekend.

On Sunday, crews with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were flying over a large charity event that benefits the Alligator Reef Lighthouse to monitor swimmers, according to NBC affiliate WTVJ .

That’s when the pilot noticed a fishing boat — operated by 55-year-old Thomas Michael Reichert, of Naples — headed their way.

Officials first tried using their sirens and PA system to get Reichert’s attention, but when that didn’t work, the pilot flew right in front of the boat.

“I told them to stop the boat. They wouldn’t,” Senior Officer David Moss, who was aboard the chopper said. “Chris Simons ended up flying the helicopter in front of the boat extremely low. I could see the actual boat and the swimmers at the same time as they got closer to the race area, and still continuing to hit the siren and the PA system. They weren’t stopping.”

The maneuver forced the boat to come to a halt, just 20 feet away from the swimmers, WTVJ said. Other boaters also moved in to stop Reichert’s boat.

“They finally came down as other support boats came in [to] stop the boat,” Moss added. “They definitely got very close and if it wasn’t for the helicopter and the other boats it definitely could have been bad.”

Reichert was arrested for being under the influence and for “possession of 12 wrung spiny lobster tails,” WTVJ reported. Separating the tail from the body of a spiny lobster in Florida is illegal.

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