HOBE SOUND — Pennsylvania natives Bryan Theiss and Christina Gillin first met nine years ago while working as lifeguards on a beach in Ocean City, N.J.

Married since April, the couple recently started the first private lifeguard service in the Treasure Coast. Bryan Theiss is an emergency medical technician and ocean rescue lifeguard for Palm Beach County.

“I love saving people. It’s the best feeling,” Theiss said.
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STUART — A Palm Beach County man lost his legs after being run over by a boat while diving near a popular Martin County park Friday afternoon, according to state officials.

Robert Murphy, 26, was among divers who were spear-fishing in the St. Lucie River near Sandsprit Park around 2 p.m., said state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro.

A 38-foot boat named the Master Plan and driven by Roger Nicosia of Stuart hit the diver.

Murphy was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. Ferraro said both of Murphy’s legs had to be amputated. She did not know if he was hit by the propeller or the body of the boat or how fast the boat was going. The area where the divers were swimming is near the “Crossroads,” a high-traffic waterway at the St. Lucie Inlet where the St. Lucie and Indian rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the accident, but were interviewing witnesses and the boat’s occupants at Sandsprit Park on Friday. The Master Plan was towed to a nearby boat yard for examination.

Nicosia told investigators that the boat was having propeller problems, Ferraro said.

Jason Schultz