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A former Army captain and father of two is fighting for his life after being struck by a boat propeller while snorkeling in the Bahamas during a family vacation.
On June 30, Brent Slough of Prosper, Texas, was snorkeling in the crystal clear water near the shores of Exuma when “this boat came out of nowhere — and never stopped,” his wife, Whitney Slough, told Dallas outlet WFAA.
“They know they hit him. They saw him snorkeling,” she said. “And they drove off.”
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Whitney and Brent Slough (Whitney Slough/Facebook)
Brent, 42, was hit “right underneath the buttocks and the legs and just sliced him there,” Whitney recalled to the outlet.
She recalled hearing his cries from the water: “We hear Brent screaming, ‘Help me, help me, help me.’ We didn’t realize that he was struck by the boat.”
Family, friends and good Samaritans jumped into action and hoisted Brent out of the water.
“What happened last night is still almost impossible to process. Despite multiple 911 calls, no ambulance ever came,” Whitney wrote in a Facebook post. “In that moment of chaos and fear, it was our neighbors and strangers on the beach who stepped in. You held us up …quite literally saved Brent’s life and I will never forget it.”
Brent Slough (right), 42, was injured in a critical boat hit-and-run incident on the first day of a trip he was on with his wife, Whitney (left), and two daughters. (GoFundMe)
He was taken to a local hospital before the family paid for him to be flown to a Miami hospital on July 1. There, Brent underwent a four-hour operation.
Whitney shared the extent of the injuries with the outlet, saying that the devastating cuts were so deep that the doctors cannot stitch his wounds because they’re so deep and have been packing them instead.
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“We’re lucky that he’s alive,” Whitney told the outlet. “And there’s no way that they should be able to get away with this.”
Scenic view of Sugar Hills Beach in the Bahamas. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
In an update Sunday, Whitney wrote on Facebook that Brent was moved to an intermediate ICU.
“A step in the right direction. Praise God,” she wrote. “Please keep the prayers coming!”
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Brent was an infantryman in the regular Army from May 2005 to April 2011, an Army spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
He deployed to Iraq from May 2007 to July 2008 and was a captain when he left.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Ranger Tab, Expert Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Parachutist Badge.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Georgetown Station for comment.