by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:45 PM ET, Tue March 14, 2017
Two women were almost hit by a Carnival Cruise ship Saturday near the mouth of Florida's Port Canaveral harbor after flipping their jet skis and being stranded in the path of the massive ship.
According to FloridaToday.com, 19-year-old Skylar Penpasuglia and 20-year-old Allison Garrett were riding jet skis at Port Canaveral harbor when the water crafts flipped over. As this occurred, the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic cruise ship was heading directly toward the two stranded women.
While the ship's captain Doug Brown attempted to steer the ship away, he was limited in how far he could maneuver the vessel. He also reported that a strong breeze continued to push the women toward the oncoming ship.
Captain Brown notified a patrol boat stationed nearby with Brevard County Sheriff's Deputy Taner Primmer onboard. Primmer rushed to the scene and pulled both women from the water just as the boat was about to hit them.
Witnesses said the massive cruise ship came within feet of striking the police boat as well, but Primmer was able to get his craft and the women out of harm's way just in time.
The official YouTube page of Anthony Miglioranzi shared a video of the incident, shot from the deck of the cruise ship:
"I couldn't be prouder of the actions of Deputy Taner Primmer, a member of our SeaPort Security Marine Unit who placed his life in peril without hesitation to rescue the young girls, and the Harbor Master Pilot, who not only maintained communication with the deputy, but was able to safely veer the ship, providing Deputy Primmer the extras seconds needed," Sheriff Wayne Ivey of the Brevard County Sheriff's Department told Florida Today.
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