SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Van Buren County deputies on marine patrol jumped into action Saturday after a pontoon took on too much water and spilled passengers. Luckily, the deputies were stationed just 50 yards away from the pontoon when it all went down.
It was about 6 p.m. when a rented pontoon was heading for the shore, going against the wind.
A bit of chaos broke out as the pontoon's bow took a wave too hard just south of the pierheads.
"They hit the wave; the pontoon goes out of control,” Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott told FOX 17 Monday.
"It was only about a three-foot wave, but there's enough weight on the front to dip that down ... and the water came in.”
Two people were sent flying off the boat into the waters of Lake Michigan. They were not wearing life jackets at the time.
Thankfully, the marine patrol boat was sitting just about 50 yards from the pontoon's resting place.
"What's the odds, with the thousands and thousands of square footage of Lake Michigan, having our marine boat literally sitting right there,” Sheriff Abbott said.
The deputies were able to move quickly over to the discarded passengers and safely scoop them up. They were even able to gather the boat debris that had gone over.
Nobody on the pontoon reported any injuries.
Officers with the South Haven Police Department were on scene as well to assist. They gave the driver of the pontoon a PBT alcohol test.
According to investigators, the driver did not have alcohol in his system.
Sheriff Abbott is thankful his deputies were in the right place at the right time.
This is the third water rescue Van Buren County deputies have performed already this summer.
"A lot is just due to inexperience," Sheriff Abbott explained. "Or Lake Michigan being Lake Michigan, how the conditions change immediately within minutes … then you run into issues like this."
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