Snorkeler seriously injured when hit by boat off Key West

A boat struck a Virginia man snorkeling off Key West’s White Street Pier Saturday, causing serious propeller wounds to his lower body.

David Corlew, 27, a former New Port Richey resident now living in Virginia, was spearfishing on a small patch reef about 200 yards from the Atlantic Ocean pier.

Corlew was displaying a diver-down flag when struck by a 32-foot SeaVee boat, said Officer Bobby Dube, information officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Commercial fisherman Robert Householder, 22, of Big Coppitt Key, was heading out to sea at 8:30 a.m. when his vessel ran over Corlew, Dube said. Householder pulled Corlew into the boat and carried him back to the Key West Bight, where they were met by a rescue crew. Corlew was later flown by air ambulance to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.

A GoFundMe account posted by a relative says Corlew, married and father of two young children, lost part of his left leg and suffered serious injuries to his right leg.

“David has already been through one seven-hour surgery and is facing several more,” Beverly Bair-Eisenhart posted. “They have a long journey ahead of them.”

Corlew posted on Facebook Monday, “I am so grateful [to friends].... I didn't cry during my accident but I have teared up multiple times reading all your reactions.”

No charges have been filed while the FWC investigation of the accident continues, Dube said. The U.S. Coast Guard also is investigating since Householder holds commercial mariner licenses.

Snapper arrests

Two men from Tacoma, Wash., were charged with multiple conservation counts Sunday after an FWC officer reported finding them with dozens of snapper near the Snake Creek Bridge in Islamorada.

Ly Tien Le, 57, and Hai Thuong Dinh, 49, were fishing from shore around noon Sunday when Officer Paul Hein asked about their catch. Both men said “they only had one fish,” Dube related.

Hein then found a bag concealed in nearby rocks holding 26 undersized mangrove snapper and one short schoolmaster snapper, according to the FWC.

Both men were charged with several counts of possessing undersized snapper and violating the five-fish bag limit on mangrove snapper. Dinh and Le were released pending trial Monday after each posted a $10,352 bond.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Snorkeler seriously injured when hit by boat off Key West."