Man smashed between boat, pilings under Sunshine Skyway

ST. PETERSBURG — A 55-year-old man who was smashed between his boat and a cluster of pilings under the Sunshine Skyway on Monday morning remained in critical condition at Bayfront Medical Center on Tuesday after undergoing surgery, according to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

The man, an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was working on a piece of equipment atop a "dolphin," a cluster of pilings with a protective cap, around 11:15 a.m.

He jumped atop the dolphin trying to keep his 28-foot boat from smashing into the structure after a tanker passing under the bridge created a large wake. The man fell into the water and was pinned between the boat and the dolphin until co-workers in the boat pulled him aboard.

Units from Fire Rescue Eckerd College stabilized the man on the boat and he was taken to O'Neil's Marina and then Bayfront in critical condition.