A fisherman kayaking on the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend made one catch he'll never forget -- a dog swimming for his life off the Siesta Key coast.
What initially seemed like a bizarre rescue actually took place following a horrific tragedy, when a drunk driver fatally struck the dog's owner in a hit-and-run accident approximately one mile from the shore, according to ABC Action News.
Authorities told the local Patch that they found Donna Chen, 53, face down on the pavement that afternoon, while her dog, Barney, was nowhere to be seen.
Police said that the suspected driver, Blake Talman, was fleeing another crash scene when his Nissan Altima spun out of control, striking Chen and Barney, as well as some landscaping, a street sign, a telephone line, and several wooden poles lining the entrance to a church, according tot he Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Talman and his passenger were both taken to a local hospital to be treated for serious injuries.
It wasn't until after posting the rescue video to YouTube that the kayaker connected the accident to his timely rescue.
"Our guess is that [the dog] was so freaked out and traumatized that he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible," he wrote in the video's description. "And when he ran out of land, he took to the water."
The kayaker pulled the visibly distraught and injured dog to safety. He is now with the family and is expected to make a full recovery.
Talman, 22, is charged with DUI manslaughter in addition to DUI property damage and personal injury.
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