Chrissie Frickman was boating with her husband and two children in Southern California on June 21 when a pod of dolphins swam alongside them.
One of the animals jumped on the vessel, knocking Frickman over and landing on her legs, the Orange County Register reported.
Her husband, Dirk, pulled her out and called authorities as he headed toward an Orange County harbour.
While he steered, he splashed water on the 150-kilogram dolphin to keep it alive as it thrashed around and bled from some cuts.
"I could hear my phone buzzing and beeping on the floor - it was covered in blood," he said.
Dirk Frickman got help pulling the dolphin onto a dock with a rope and then releasing it.
"The dolphin was hopefully saved," Frickman said. "It swam away with no problem."
His wife is still recovering from her injuries. Harbor Patrol Seargent DJ Haldeman confirmed the incident. He said sea lions have been known to jump aboard boats before, but that this is the first he's heard of a dolphin doing the same.
"I don't know what was in the water, but something must have scared it out," Haldeman said.
A dolphin leaped onto Dirk Frickman's boat and broke his wife Chrissie's ankles, June 21 2015 (Dirk Frickman via AP) Source: Dirk Frickman
Share
