Response to tragedy heartening

THE ISSUE: Fatal boating accident.
OUR OPINION: Heroes arise from rescue effort.

Last Sunday afternoon, a boating mishap in the Hell’s Acre section of the Gulf of Mexico, just outside of the mouth of the Homosassa River, forced 10 people to be ejected out of the boat and into the water. 

Tony Williams, Leesa Frazier, Mariann Cornwell and Jamie Roberts had no idea what was ahead of them as they rounded a bend on their journey home after spending the day scalloping. They were flipping hamburgers while talking about the day’s catch, and saving lives was not on their radar screen.

Briefly, they saw a sport fishing boat pass by, just like many of the other days on the water.

Within minutes, the recreational boaters realized that there was a serious accident ahead that left Rob Phillips, owner of Eagle Buick GMC in Homosassa dead, and nine others hurt.

Without a thought for his own safety, Tony Williams dove into the murky water to look for a missing teenager who he had been told was pinned under the capsized boat. He said his only thought was that there was a person who had a few precious minutes to be pulled to safety.

Thanks to his quick actions, the boy was found and a life was saved. In our opinion, Tony is a hero.

If such a moment faced us, how many would make the same split-second decision? We all would like to think we would put ourselves at risk, but would we make that jump? It was a test of character and Tony Williams is a true hero. 

Accolades must also go to the other people involved in getting the injured passengers to safety, attending to the immediate injuries and to those pitching in transporting them back to land quickly so emergency medical technicians could work on saving lives.

Capt. Mike Dunn, with TowBoatU.S., heard the call on the radio and rushed to the scene to see if he could help. He loaded Wade and April Phillips and Tony Williams onto his boat and sped toward the triage area, giving the patients a chance to survive.

If all of these independent people hadn’t been involved in some way, the outcome could have been much different. You are all heroes.

And we mustn’t forget Rob Phillips. He was a great community champion and business leader who will be greatly missed. He touched the lives of many youths and charities in the community and was always willing to help others. Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the Phillips family.