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Father Saves Daughter From Runaway Boat In Weymouth

WEYMOUTH (CBS) - A quick-thinking dad saved his daughter from their runaway boat at the South Shore Yacht Club over the weekend.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports

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Bruce Williams and his 12-year-old daughter Emily were preparing to return to the dock in a small, motorized inflatable raft Saturday.

The boat jerked and the Emily went overboard.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports

Instinct took over and Williams jumped in after Emily. The boat was still in gear and moments later it started heading straight for the father and daughter.

"I actually thought I was going to die," Emily told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Monday.

Williams pushed Emily underwater while he wrestled to keep the boat off of them.

"I saw the thing coming back, I just pushed her down. I got my head down as much as I could too, till the boat was overhead, and then a couple of times I was actually pushing the boat off, trying to get out of the way," Williams said.

He was hit by the boat's propeller several times.   Williams ended up with a gash to the head and several cuts on his hand.

Emily thought her father might die because of all the blood.

But Williams said that didn't matter.  He had only one thing on his mind.

"Just make sure my girl was alright. That's all you care about," Williams said.

"Most fathers would do what they have to do to save their daughters."

"I think he's a hero because of all he did," Emily said.

WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe contributed to this report

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