Florida deputy leaps from boat going 41 mph onto runaway vessel, wild video shows

Ship happens — but this nimble deputy was ready.

A Florida deputy launched himself onto a runaway boat speeding through Tampa Bay Sunday after its owner toppled into the water, leaving their vessel unmanned.

Wild video shows the moment Deputy Travis Fernandes bravely lept from the moving Pinellas County Sheriff’s vessel onto the deck of the center console boat.

The loose boat’s driver was alone when they fell over the edge with the keys still in the ignition and the gas turned on — allowing it to plow ahead in the open water.

Fernandes’ bodycam footage shows him climbing the police boat’s protective railing as his partner Deputy Jillian Constant — who made headlines last month for rescuing an “exhausted” manatee” by holding its head above water for two hours — inches closer to the speeding and unpredictable vessel.

According to the sheriff’s department, Constant reached a speed of 41 mph on the open sea when Fernandes jumped from their boat.

After skillfully landing on the deck, he quickly gained control of the runaway boat and put an end to its feral run.

“And yes Deputy Fernandes does his own stunts,” the sheriff’s office quipped in a Facebook post set to Van Halen’s “Jump.” 

It is not clear how long the boat had been on the loose before it was corralled and tethered to the police boat.

Luckily, its owner was rescued by a good Samaritan shortly after going overboard.

The US Coast Guard also tried to stop the speeding boat by throwing devices in its path in an attempt to intercept its propeller, but were unsuccessful, Pinellas Sgt. Amanda Sinni said in a statement.

The department is now warning boaters — especially those setting out on the sea alone — to connect their kill switches to lanyards that can stop boats in case of emergency.

The vessel was intercepted approximately two miles east of St. Petersburg.