Lifeguard Hit by Boat While Diving
SAN CLEMENTE — A 39-year-old San Clemente lifeguard suffered a severe cut in his left arm Monday morning when a boat struck him as he was skin-diving off San Clemente State Beach.
Michael Edward Brousard underwent emergency surgery at Samaritan Medical Center-San Clemente to repair a 10-inch cut that pierced an artery and veins in the tricep, said Richard Stone, the hospital’s nursing supervisor.
Brousard was struck by a 22-foot outboard motor boat driven by Philip Edwards, 52, of San Clemente, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Edwards told deputies he was traveling south about 300 feet from shore about 9:45 a.m. when he felt a bump that turned out to be Brousard.
Edwards pulled Brousard aboard the boat and took him to lifeguards at San Clemente Pier.
Brousard said he heard a boat approaching while diving in about 15 feet of water and was hit after he surfaced so he could be seen.
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