Woman loses leg in freak boat propeller accident

[QChawks]

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA/Gray News) – A freak boating accident has changed an Alabama woman’s life forever.

On May 15, Nikki Goodman was on a boat with her husband heading out to Gravine Island near Mobile, Alabama, for a day of fun in the sun.

They had just left the Chickasaw boat launch and were anticipating a great day.

“I was laying out in the sun, he was fishing, you know, having a relaxing day,” Goodman said.

Suddenly, their boat malfunctioned, and the unthinkable happened.

“All of a sudden, the hydraulic cable breaks that goes to the steering, so when it broke, the boat just started spinning and it immediately threw us off [the boat],” Goodman said.

In the chaos, the boat’s propeller sliced Goodman’s legs. Her husband made it back on to the boat, but he couldn’t find her until she began yelling for help.

“I was just like, ‘Help me, my legs are going numb, I can’t feel my legs,’ but my leg was already gone,” she said.

To her horror, her left leg was completely gone, cut off right above the knee. Her right leg was severely damaged.

In shock, her husband pulled her back onto the boat and grabbed any items in sight to stop the bleeding. Miraculously, Goodman said she never lost consciousness.

“Bungee cords, whatever we had on the boat, he started tying them to my legs to stop the bleeding,” Goodman said.

Fortunately, another boat was passing by at the time. The two good Samaritans on board stopped to help.

“It was a man and woman, and I would love to find them and thank them because they helped save my life. They were already on the phone with 911. He immediately got on the boat with my husband and started helping him. I don’t want to shake his hand. I want to hug his neck and I just want to say thank you,” she said.

Meanwhile, as people head out for Memorial Day celebrations, Goodman has an urgent message for boaters.

“People just need to take that extra time and that extra dollar to make sure their equipment is up to par because they don’t want to experience what I’ve experienced,” she said. “Wear your life jackets. I did not have my life jacket on, we did not have them on. Wear your life jackets, even if you’re just cruising.”

In the meantime, Goodman has a long road to recovery as she prepares for physical therapy and gets fitted for a prosthetic leg.


A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

“Donate to the GoFundMe, and if you can’t, just pray for us,” she pleaded.

Finally, Goodman said she hopes her story inspires others.

“If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me. Even if nobody donates a dollar to help us – if I can impact somebody, touch somebody’s life, that’s great,” she said.

 

[ericram]

It actually happens more than you think.

 

[millah_22]

View embedded media

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA/Gray News) – A freak boating accident has changed an Alabama woman’s life forever.

On May 15, Nikki Goodman was on a boat with her husband heading out to Gravine Island near Mobile, Alabama, for a day of fun in the sun.

They had just left the Chickasaw boat launch and were anticipating a great day.

“I was laying out in the sun, he was fishing, you know, having a relaxing day,” Goodman said.

Suddenly, their boat malfunctioned, and the unthinkable happened.

“All of a sudden, the hydraulic cable breaks that goes to the steering, so when it broke, the boat just started spinning and it immediately threw us off [the boat],” Goodman said.

In the chaos, the boat’s propeller sliced Goodman’s legs. Her husband made it back on to the boat, but he couldn’t find her until she began yelling for help.

“I was just like, ‘Help me, my legs are going numb, I can’t feel my legs,’ but my leg was already gone,” she said.

To her horror, her left leg was completely gone, cut off right above the knee. Her right leg was severely damaged.

In shock, her husband pulled her back onto the boat and grabbed any items in sight to stop the bleeding. Miraculously, Goodman said she never lost consciousness.

“Bungee cords, whatever we had on the boat, he started tying them to my legs to stop the bleeding,” Goodman said.

Fortunately, another boat was passing by at the time. The two good Samaritans on board stopped to help.

“It was a man and woman, and I would love to find them and thank them because they helped save my life. They were already on the phone with 911. He immediately got on the boat with my husband and started helping him. I don’t want to shake his hand. I want to hug his neck and I just want to say thank you,” she said.

Meanwhile, as people head out for Memorial Day celebrations, Goodman has an urgent message for boaters.

“People just need to take that extra time and that extra dollar to make sure their equipment is up to par because they don’t want to experience what I’ve experienced,” she said. “Wear your life jackets. I did not have my life jacket on, we did not have them on. Wear your life jackets, even if you’re just cruising.”

In the meantime, Goodman has a long road to recovery as she prepares for physical therapy and gets fitted for a prosthetic leg.


A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

“Donate to the GoFundMe, and if you can’t, just pray for us,” she pleaded.

Finally, Goodman said she hopes her story inspires others.

“If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me. Even if nobody donates a dollar to help us – if I can impact somebody, touch somebody’s life, that’s great,” she said.

An actual good usage of the term "Good Samaritan"

 

[hexumhawk]

Boating is dumb

 

[JustSayOV]

Boating is dumb

 

[TDJ7]

 

[ThorneStockton]

She seems to have an admirable attitude considering what happened to her. But I have to question her advocacy/marketing for god here.

“If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me."

Is she saying god took her leg and that's proof that god is real?!

 

[seminole97]

If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

She seems to have an admirable attitude considering what happened to her. But I have to question her advocacy/marketing for god here.

“If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me."

Is she saying god took her leg and that's proof that god is real?!

She’s saying she is alive thanks God.
Honestly not sure if you are serious or just being an a**hole.
Why is she not allowed to thank God that she’s alive?

 

[ThorneStockton]

She’s saying she is alive thanks God.
Honestly not sure if you are serious or just being an a**hole.
Why is she not allowed to thank God that she’s alive?

Where do you get the impression that I think she's "not allowed" to thank god? What does that even mean? Do you think I have some authority in the matter? Do you think I'm god and could punish her by taking her other leg?


If your interpretation of her intent is correct, I still think she's silly for thanking god for keeping her alive, when god could have kept her out of the water and with both legs in the first place. Thus, not a very compelling pro-god anecdote.

 

[HawkMachine]

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

“Donate to the GoFundMe, and if you can’t, just pray for us,” she pleaded.



Of course the husband set up a gofundme page.

I'm sorry, just not a fan of people looking for handouts.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

Where do you get the impression that I think she's "not allowed" to thank god? What does that even mean? Do you think I have some authority in the matter? Do you think I'm god and could punish her by taking her other leg?


If your interpretation of her intent is correct, I still think she's silly for thanking god for keeping her alive, when god could have kept her out of the water and with both legs in the first place.
Thus, not a very compelling pro-god anecdote.

My bad. Why do you have to question her advocacy/marketing for God here.

Why do so many of you blame God when something bad happens, like her being in the water in the first place. But have such a hard time giving him credit when something good happens. Like him possibly saving her life?

Also, what difference does it make to you that she’s thanking him for being alive? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so an anti-God. What is it hurting you?

 

[seminole97]

She’s saying she is alive thanks God.
Honestly not sure if you are serious or just being an a**hole.
Why is she not allowed to thank God that she’s alive?

I would question why god put chopping off her leg in the plan.
Among some other things.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I would question why god put chopping off her leg in the plan.
Among some other things.

Are you serious, you reply to my post yet leave out the answer to this very question.
I’ll post it again for you and add a tiny bit to it.

Why do so many of you blame God when something bad happens, like her being in the water in the first place. But have such a hard time giving him credit when something good happens. Like him possibly saving her life?

Maybe the devil put her in the water and God saved her as soon as he could.

 

[Cougar63]

My bad. Why do you have to question her advocacy/marketing for God here.

Why do so many of you blame God when something bad happens, like her being in the water in the first place. But have such a hard time giving him credit when something good happens. Like him possibly saving her life?

Also, what difference does it make to you that she’s thanking him for being alive? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so an anti-God. What is it hurting you?

I've seen too many sick, hungry, and/or dead babies to think God is real anymore. Anyone with the power to stop that shit but doesn't isn't a God but a Devil.

 

[ThorneStockton]

My bad. Why do you have to question her advocacy/marketing for God here.

Why do so many of you blame God when something bad happens, like her being in the water in the first place. But have such a hard time giving him credit when something good happens. Like him possibly saving her life?

Also, what difference does it make to you that she’s thanking him for being alive? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so an anti-God. What is it hurting you?

I don't know that I can be any more clear: I'm questioning the efficacy of her advocacy/marketing.

Something very terrible happened to her and one of her takeaways is that this proves that god exists. Well, the idea that it took something terrible to prove this, isn't a very good marketing. That's the point.

If some criminal decided to shoot me in the gut, but decided to call 911 on my behalf, I'm not worshipping the shooter as a hero for saving my life.

It makes zero difference to me. I just made a simple observation on a message board. It doesn't bother me at all. I am not anti-god. Nothing is hurting me.

Also, what difference does it make to you that I'm posting about her and god? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so anti-me? What is it hurting you?



The conclusions you drew and the questions you ask lead me to believe you're either deliberately trolling or incapable of comprehending written English.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I've seen too many sick, hungry, and/or dead babies to think God is real anymore. Anyone with the power to stop that shit but doesn't isn't a God but a Devil.

So are you calling yourself a devil then?

 

[seminole97]

Are you serious, you reply to my post yet leave out the answer to this very question.
I’ll post it again for you and add a tiny bit to it.

Why do so many of you blame God when something bad happens, like her being in the water in the first place. But have such a hard time giving him credit when something good happens. Like him possibly saving her life?

Maybe the devil put her in the water and God saved her as soon as he could.

I remember when Comedy Central was the Comedy Channel and they showed clips from comedians between breaks.
One fella mentioned you see lots and lots of athletes give credit to god for their success, but not their failure.

“Yeah, we really had state by the throat this year. We were putting them away with the ground game, until Jesus made me fumble!”

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I don't know that I can be any more clear: I'm questioning the efficacy of her advocacy/marketing.

Something very terrible happened to her and one of her takeaways is that this proves that god exists. Well, the idea that it took something terrible to prove this, isn't a very good marketing. That's the point.

If some criminal decided to shoot me in the gut, but decided to call 911 on my behalf, I'm not worshipping the shooter as a hero for saving my life.

It makes zero difference to me. I just made a simple observation on a message board. It doesn't bother me at all. I am not anti-god. Nothing is hurting me.

Also, what difference does it make to you that I'm posting about her and god? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so anti-me? What is it hurting you?



The conclusions you drew and the questions you ask lead me to believe you're either deliberately trolling or incapable of comprehending written English.

I’m not trolling at all. I’m just curious why you have to hate on religion so much that you feel the need to call it out if someone wants to mention it in an article about them?

What is it hurting you that they feel thankful to be alive?

 

[HROT]

It actually happens more than you think.

The old circle of death

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I remember when Comedy Central was the Comedy Channel and they showed clips from comedians between breaks.
One fella mentioned you see lots and lots of athletes give credit to god for their success, but not their failure.

“Yeah, we really had state by the throat this year. We were putting them away with the ground game, until Jesus made me fumble!”

Haha so you’re telling me you truly believe that god made them win the other games they won or made them be the successful person that they were up until that fumble?

 

[ThorneStockton]

I’m not trolling at all. I’m just curious why you have to hate on religion so much that you feel the need to call it out if someone wants to mention it in an article about them?

What is it hurting you that they feel thankful to be alive?

Then you aren't very good at reading or don't bother to try. Because this has already been addressed, but to show good faith I will answer again.

I am not hating on religion. I haven't called it out. It is not hurting me that they feel thankful.

Since I answered your questions (multiple times), and since you're not a troll. Maybe you'll answer my questions:

Also, what difference does it make to you that I'm posting about her and god? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so anti-me? What is it hurting you?

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

Then you aren't very good at reading or don't bother to try. Because this has already been addressed, but to show good faith I will answer again.

I am not hating on religion. I haven't called it out. It is not hurting me that they feel thankful.

Since I answered your questions (multiple times), and since you're not a troll. Maybe you'll answer my questions:

Also, what difference does it make to you that I'm posting about her and god? Why does that bother you so much to the point that you have to call it out? Why are you so anti-me? What is it hurting you?

You still haven’t answered my question of why you feel the need to bring up the fact that she thanked God.

It bothers me that you brought it up because I’m tired of people hating on God for no reason, much like you just did.
You brought up her thanking God in this article with this exact unnecessary quote.

“Is she saying god took her leg and that's proof that god is real?!

It would be like me going into every post where something bad happened to someone and saying. This wouldn’t have happened if they believed in God. Now how annoying would that be to you?

 

[ThorneStockton]

You still haven’t answered my question of why you feel the need to bring up the fact that she thanked God.

It bothers me that you brought it up because I’m tired of people hating on God for no reason, much like you just did.
You brought up her thanking God in this article with this exact unnecessary quote.

“Is she saying god took her leg and that's proof that god is real?!

You say you're not a troll, if that's the case, you're plain stupid. I've answered your questions, explained my posts in a number of different ways. If you still don't get it, you're stupid or you haven't bothered to try and you're not worth wasting any more time on.

You can blame me, you can blame god, I don't care, you're not interesting enough to bother with any further.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

You say you're not a troll, if that's the case, you're plain stupid. I've answered your questions, explained my posts in a number of different ways. If you still don't get it, you're stupid or you haven't bothered to try and you're not worth wasting any more time on.

You can blame me, you can blame god, I don't care, you're not interesting enough to bother with any further.

Nice little temper tantrum there. I think you could use a little break from here for a while.

 

[Tenacious E]

View embedded media

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA/Gray News) – A freak boating accident has changed an Alabama woman’s life forever.

On May 15, Nikki Goodman was on a boat with her husband heading out to Gravine Island near Mobile, Alabama, for a day of fun in the sun.

They had just left the Chickasaw boat launch and were anticipating a great day.

“I was laying out in the sun, he was fishing, you know, having a relaxing day,” Goodman said.

Suddenly, their boat malfunctioned, and the unthinkable happened.

“All of a sudden, the hydraulic cable breaks that goes to the steering, so when it broke, the boat just started spinning and it immediately threw us off [the boat],” Goodman said.

In the chaos, the boat’s propeller sliced Goodman’s legs. Her husband made it back on to the boat, but he couldn’t find her until she began yelling for help.

“I was just like, ‘Help me, my legs are going numb, I can’t feel my legs,’ but my leg was already gone,” she said.

To her horror, her left leg was completely gone, cut off right above the knee. Her right leg was severely damaged.

In shock, her husband pulled her back onto the boat and grabbed any items in sight to stop the bleeding. Miraculously, Goodman said she never lost consciousness.

“Bungee cords, whatever we had on the boat, he started tying them to my legs to stop the bleeding,” Goodman said.

Fortunately, another boat was passing by at the time. The two good Samaritans on board stopped to help.

“It was a man and woman, and I would love to find them and thank them because they helped save my life. They were already on the phone with 911. He immediately got on the boat with my husband and started helping him. I don’t want to shake his hand. I want to hug his neck and I just want to say thank you,” she said.

Meanwhile, as people head out for Memorial Day celebrations, Goodman has an urgent message for boaters.

“People just need to take that extra time and that extra dollar to make sure their equipment is up to par because they don’t want to experience what I’ve experienced,” she said. “Wear your life jackets. I did not have my life jacket on, we did not have them on. Wear your life jackets, even if you’re just cruising.”

In the meantime, Goodman has a long road to recovery as she prepares for physical therapy and gets fitted for a prosthetic leg.


A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

“Donate to the GoFundMe, and if you can’t, just pray for us,” she pleaded.

Finally, Goodman said she hopes her story inspires others.

“If anyone thinks God isn’t real, they need to look at me. Even if nobody donates a dollar to help us – if I can impact somebody, touch somebody’s life, that’s great,” she said.

I'll stick to my pool.

 

[Tenacious E]

It actually happens more than you think.

I've never heard of such a thing happening. Not the getting run over by a propeller part, but the cord snapping, going in a circle throwing her off the boat, and then having the misfortune of the circling boat tearing part of her leg off. But then again, I don't boat and I am not dialed into boating accidents.

 

[Jerome Silberman]

Nice little temper tantrum there. I think you could use a little break from here for a while.

 

[jasonrann]

She must have been driving.

 

[waterboy4582]

First of all what is a hydraulic cable? Secondly why wasn’t the operator wearing the kill switch bungee?

 

[McLovin32]

Secondly why wasn’t the operator wearing the kill switch bungee?

I also wondered about this. I'm pretty sure there's a federal law requiring the operator to be wearing it while operating the boat. It got passed a couple years ago. I think it goes for all federally navigable waterways. Which in Iowa is Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock, and the Mississippi. I might be missing one or two.

It appears this location would qualify for that.

 

[SolarHawk]

I also wondered about this. I'm pretty sure there's a federal law requiring the operator to be wearing it while operating the boat. It got passed a couple years ago. I think it goes for all federally navigable waterways. Which in Iowa is Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock, and the Mississippi. I might be missing one or two.

It appears this location would qualify for that.

Yeah, article said she was tanning and he was fishing? Why the fvck is the motor running in that scenario? Sad sad story, but sounds like negligence is the culprit.

 

[HROT]

I also wondered about this. I'm pretty sure there's a federal law requiring the operator to be wearing it while operating the boat. It got passed a couple years ago. I think it goes for all federally navigable waterways. Which in Iowa is Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock, and the Mississippi. I might be missing one or two.

It appears this location would qualify for that.

Only required on boats built after Jan 1 2020.

 

[McLovin32]

Only required on boats built after Jan 1 2020.

Ahhh okay, I was unaware of that little tidbit.

 

[millah_22]

I also wondered about this. I'm pretty sure there's a federal law requiring the operator to be wearing it while operating the boat. It got passed a couple years ago. I think it goes for all federally navigable waterways. Which in Iowa is Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock, and the Mississippi. I might be missing one or two.

It appears this location would qualify for that.

I didn't wonder about this at all

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

Like the old saying the best two days owning a boat the day you bought it and the day you get maimed. Something like that.

 

[SolarHawk]

I didn't wonder about this at all

 

[millah_22]

what did you just write down?

 

[SolarHawk]

what did you just write down?

If I told you that I wouldn’t be a shark now would I?

 

[millah_22]

If I told you that I wouldn’t be a shark now would I?