'I don’t think we’re heroes'; teens recount rescuing 3 after boat crash in St. Lucie River

MARTIN COUNTY — An evening of snook fishing on a boat for three high school friends turned into a rescue mission after six people on another boat crashed into a channel marker, ejecting three into the St. Lucie River.

A 14-year-old boy sustained severe injuries to his back in the Oct. 7 incident, yet he, along with a younger girl and an adult were pulled by the three friends from the river north of the Evans Crary Bridge. Martin County Fire Rescue crews were dispatched at 9:43 p.m.

Friends Nash Kennedy, 16, Jack Aubuchon and Riley Kirby, both 17, ferried the 14-year-old in Kirby’s boat to an area behind Benihana restaurant in Sewall’s Point where rescue officials were waiting.

The injured teen was flown via helicopter to a trauma center, a Martin County Fire Rescue official has said.

“I don’t think we’re heroes. I think we just did the right thing,” Aubuchon said as the three friends recounted the events in an interview this week. “We just did what we were all taught to do.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the crash. Requests this week for information have not been fulfilled.

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What happened

The three teens had been fishing, and left hours earlier from Sandsprit Park. They fished in a number of places heading toward the Evans Crary Bridge, which links Stuart and Sewall’s Point.

Kennedy, a South Fork High School student, said they were under the Evans Crary Bridge and decided to switch spots.

“We start moving to enter the channel and we see a boat come moving pretty fast past us. We see the channel marker up ahead and we're watching their track and they just whacked right into it,” Kennedy said.

Aubuchon, who attends Martin County High School, said they heard the boat strike the marker, which the youths said was the No. 1 marker and had a blinking light.

“The first thing we did was we went to the boat to make sure everyone was OK,” Aubuchon said. “But once they said people were in the water, that's when we went back over to the channel marker and started pulling everyone in.”

Three people were in the water, spread out a little, but around the marker.

Kirby, a Martin County High School student, drove his 18-foot boat with a 30-horsepower motor.

“Automatically just seeing them, hearing them speak, we knew something was wrong,” Kennedy said. “We started pulling them out of the water one by one.”

Kennedy got the 14-year-old, who said he hurt his back.

“We knew that he was injured but it didn't seem that severe at the time,” Kennedy said. “As soon as he turned around and we shined a light on it, we knew it was really bad.”

Kennedy said the 14-year-old’s back was cut severely, and torn from the shoulders to the hips. The wounds appeared to have been caused by a propeller.

Kennedy wrapped the 14-year-old in Kirby’s jacket; Aubuchon called 911; and Kirby drove the boat. Kennedy said Kirby got the younger girl from the water, while Aubuchon got the man.

They brought the man and the young girl to the boat from which they were ejected because they didn’t appear hurt. They didn’t want to transfer the 14-year-old to the other boat.

The three teens took the 14-year-old to an area behind Benihana restaurant, telling those on the other boat to follow them.

At Benihana, Kennedy said he thought the adults on the boat that crashed were in shock “trying to figure out what the situation was.”

“They walked with us, up with the boy, up to the ambulance and they didn't say much to us,” Kennedy said. “They said thank you … but didn't say much during walking him up to the ambulance.”

‘I was proud of them’

Mike Kennedy, 51, is the father of Nash Kennedy. He said he’s a retired firefighter from Miami with nearly three decades of experience, and was captain of a fireboat there.

The elder Kennedy admired the way his son and the youths reacted.

“As a 16-year-old kid to see something like that, it was concerning for me. But, of course, I was proud of them for how they handled it,” Mike Kennedy said. “I was so impressed with how he was conveying the information to me. He was calm and cool and collected, and I could hear all the chaos ... in the background.”

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Mike Kennedy, of Palm City, said his son was raised on the water, and they are avid outdoorsmen and fishermen.

“He had an interest in being a firefighter/paramedic himself,” Mike Kennedy said. “After all of this happened, I was … concerned for how he handled the trauma, and the first thing he says is, ‘I want to be a paramedic.’”

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Crash happened in the St. Lucie River north of the Evans Crary Bridge