A former Army Ranger was seriously injured after a boat propeller sliced into him while snorkeling in the Bahamas.
Brent Slough was vacationing with his family on June 30 when the hit-and-run incident occurred in the Exuma district of the islands. The driver of the boat did not stop and has not been charged.
Slough, a West Point graduate and former Ranger who served six years in the military as well as one tour in Iraq, was in the water before dinner when a boat skimming the shallows struck him.
According to his wife, Whitney Slough, the propeller hit Slough underneath the buttocks and the legs, causing him to bleed profusely.
Recalling the incident to WFAA, she said: “We hear Brent screaming, ‘Help me, help me, help me.’ We didn’t realize that he was struck by the boat.”
Slough’s family, with the help of other Good Samaritans on the beach, pulled him from the water and wrapped his legs in towels in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He was taken to a nearby hospital.
He was later airlifted back to the U.S. and is currently in the ICU in Miami, having undergone surgery, which lasted four hours.
His wife told WFAA that doctors were unable to stitch the wounds because they’re so deep and have packed them instead. A GoFundMe to help with his medical bills has so far raised over $50,000.
Bahamian authorities are now searching for the boat and those responsible.
“They know they hit him, they saw him snorkeling,” Whitney Slough said. “And they drove off. I just can’t let that be…. We’re lucky that he’s alive and there’s no way that they should be able to get away with this.”
She added: “[The Bahamas] is such a beautiful place. But I feel like I’m in a nightmare.”
