Dionny Baez was spearfishing with a friend out by the second reef along the Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park near Dania Beach when he was hit by a boat.
“It first hit me in my head and it opened my head. I felt all my ribs from the right side broken and it collapsed my lung. It kind of pulled me and broke my leg. Then it cut my right thigh and then punctured my liver," Baez recalled. "It was a miracle that I was not killed by the propeller alone."
The music producer and pastor said the accident happened on Dec. 13, 2021. Once he realized what happened, his buddy was able to put Baez on the buoy with their dive flag and started swimming in, screaming for help.
Thankfully someone fishing on the Dania Beach Pier heard his cries and alerted the closest lifeguard tower as they made it to shore.
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“I just distinctly remember seeing that neon orange and those are tourniquets being applied to the victim, and that’s a grim sign for us,” said Alice Henley, a lifeguard and EMT with Dania Beach Ocean Rescue.
Henley was one of the lifeguards on duty that day along with her coworkers Michael Huck, Nick Sanchez and Alejandro Azcano.
“I ran down there and that’s when I saw the two divers pulling each other out of the water and the gentleman was laying supine on the sand, just bleeding out of his leg like crazy,” said Azcano, a lifeguard and EMT with Dania Beach Ocean Rescue.
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All resources in the area were called out as an ambulance arrived to transfer Baez to the hospital.
“Definitely the most significant injuries I’ve ever seen and really extensive throughout," Henley said. "I was going through my head thinking, 'This person does not have a great chance for survival.'"
Other than some scars on his leg, Baez has made a full recovery. He spent 13 days in the hospital until he was released just in time for Christmas.
Exactly a year later, Baez returned to Dania Beach to reunite with the lifeguards who sprang into action to save his life.
“To see him in person walking around and doing OK just put such a huge smile on our faces and then his gratitude was unparalleled,” Henley said.
“I thanked them and told them that what they do really matters," Baez said. "I know it really saves lives and I’m not only thinking about me, but I also think of my children. Because they were there doing their job, now I got to see my children again and they get to have their dad. I’m here with the family because of them so I’m very grateful."
