A quick-thinking shark fisherman in Pensacola is being hailed as a hero for saving a teenage girl from a strong rip current, without ever entering the water.
“I was sitting there, and this girl came running, asking if anybody could swim,” said Andrew Smith. “I said, ‘No, I absolutely cannot swim.’ She was running and screaming, and nobody could swim. Her friend was getting sucked farther and farther out, and I looked down at the drone and I was like, ‘The drone can swim, but I can’t.’”
Using his drone, Smith, who has a physical issue that prevents him from swimming, gave the struggling teen a flotation device.
Smith had just reached the shore when he heard cries for assistance. He was unable to help physically, so he flew out a life-saving float using his drone, which is usually used for shark fishing.
His first drop failed, but he was able to make a second attempt with the help of a bystander and a second flotation device. Five minutes later, first responders arrived, but the teenager managed to hang on and stay afloat.
“I flew it back out, and after the first drop, I could tell how windy it was,” Smith said. “So, then I lowered it down—you had to go slower and slower to reach her, because that was it. That was the last opportunity we were going to have.”
Smith’s use of technology and quick thinking to save the girl’s life has led local witnesses and the girl’s family to call him a great hero, even a guardian angel.
