A Florida man known as “Lieutenant Dan” chose to ride out the storm on a small yacht, hoping to survive and keeping TikTok viewers around the world on the edge of their seats as Hurricane Milton passed through Tampa. I was waiting. And he survived.
“I wasn't planning on going anywhere,” Joseph Malinowski told Fox News Digital in an interview after the storm. “I had no intention of leaving. The storm didn't scare me because I couldn't see it. I didn't write it. I didn't make it happen.”
Despite pleas from local residents, law enforcement officials and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to leave and evacuate, Malinowski chose to remain in place with his boat tied up on Bayshore Boulevard near Tampa General Hospital. He rode the same boat through Hurricane Helen.
“It's a boat,” he said. “As long as you don't let water get into the boat, you'll be fine.”
Hurricane Helen causes a significant shortage of intravenous fluids at hospitals across the country.
Oct. 9, 2024 Tampa, Florida, prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Milton Tampa Police Department responds to a man living on a boat, known as Jay, aka “Lieutenant Dan,” as Tampa prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Milton. We are trying to persuade them to leave the port for safety reasons. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Castor said at a news conference Wednesday night that a man known in the Tampa community as “Lieutenant Dan” was taken to the shelter. However, TikTok live feeds and news interviews show that he is still on board, refusing to leave.
Malinowski's nickname “Lieutenant Dan'' was apparently given to him because of his resemblance to the “Forrest Gump'' character of the same name, played by actor Gary Sinise. Malinowski is missing part of his left leg and uses crutches to get around.
Joseph Malinowski, also known as “Lieutenant Dan,” outran Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helen in his small yacht in the Tampa, Florida area and survived both. (Fox News Digital)
“Was it windy? Yeah. Was it crazy for a while? Yes, it was. Did it bother you? No, because I knew what I was doing,” Malinowski said. said.
“I know it’s going to be okay,” he said. “God has put his finger on me.”
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm, a Category 4 storm that hit southeast Florida in late September, damaging homes and killing more than 200 people across Florida. It shocked the Tampa Bay area, which was already reeling from Helen. , North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.
Malinowski went viral on social media platforms when users realized he was adamant about staying put.
Hurricane Helen: Grandmother's Bible survives after storm destroys home: 'It was the Lord'
He caught the eye of TikToker Adin Roth, who offered to buy “Lieutenant Dan” a $50,000 to $100,000 boat, starting a full-time livestream TikTok deal that Malinowski He documented his “voyages'' and enabled lonely sailors to generate income through social media. .
But Ross withdrew his offer after discovering Malinowski's long criminal history, according to the New York Post.
The ownership of the boat where “Lieutenant Dan” was crouched is being disputed in a Tampa court, the New York Post reports. (Fox News Digital)
“He offered it to me. I never asked for it,” Malinowski told one TikToker who recorded the live performance. “If you're worried about your image or who you're working for, you have enough to offer before you offer me a $100,000 sign-on bonus, $50,000 a month on a $100,000 boat. You should have looked into me carefully.”
His other past charges include drug possession, attempted trespassing and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to the New York Post.
A North Carolina mother of four was hit by Hurricane Helen's floods right in front of her husband and 8-year-old son.
Despite the backlash, Malinowski said he plans to ride out all future Tampa hurricanes on his boat, but the New York Post reported on a cold case that called into question ownership of the boat.
Malinowski said he began communicating with God and meditating when Milton caused damage to Tampa Bay and caused “superficial damage” to his boat.
Wind gusts in St. Petersburg, less than 40 miles from Tampa, increased to 162 mph, according to FOX Weather.
“Lieutenant Dan” told Fox News Digital that he is ready to fight Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helen. (Fox News Digital)
Malinowski told Fox News Digital that while he was meditating, he believed there was a ring around him that would protect him from hitting the waterway wall. When he could no longer concentrate on his meditation, he slammed into the dock again, causing further damage.
Prior to Hurricane Helen, Malinowski said he tied an anchor line to the Bayshore Boulevard dock. He said he experienced a “peaceful night” and slept for about four-and-a-half hours before waking up on his boat near Harbor Island, which shares the strait with Bayshore Strait, off the docks.
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“We had one really bad time. It was really windy,” Malinowski said of Hurricane Milton. “I mean, the wind was really picking up and blowing through here and I was bouncing around.”
