Survivor of NFL boat accident is still haunted by “survivor’s guilt”

Nick Schuyler was the only survivor of a February boating accident that killed two NFL players and a former college player. He said in a recent interview that he was still haunted by “survivor’s guilt”.

“The hardest time of day for me is at nighttime,” he said. “I toss and turn, and your mind’s weak. You get started thinking about everything, the same thing: ‘Why me?’ I don’t know.”

On the Feb. 28 trip, the boat capsized as the men tried to free the anchor, and three of the four friends succumbed to the physical and mental effects of hypothermia brought on by the 63-degree Gulf of Mexico water. Schuyler got seasick previously and put on a sweat shirt, pants, shoes, gloves and a hat, which luckily helped him stave off the effects of the hypothermia. When he was found by a Coast Guard about 36 hours later, he was straddling the boat’s motor.

“You don’t realize—and I’m not the religious type—how many times you say, ‘Please, God,”’ he said. “When I saw that boat, I said, ‘Thank you God. Thank you God.’” The former University of South Florida football player still felt too lucky to believe it.