NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A leaping 9-foot, 400-pound dolphin hospitalized two boaters when it landed in their laps as they traveled in the Intracoastal Waterway near New Smyrna Beach.

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IMAGES: Leaping Dolphin Injures 2

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Norman Howard, 64, said he and his wife, Barbara, were in a 18-foot boat Thursday when the large dolphin jumped into their boat and continued to hit them with its tail.

"There was blood everywhere," Howard said.

Norman told the Daytona Beach News Journal that he saw the dolphin coming out of the corner of his eye, but everything happened too quickly to react.

"The next thing I knew, a big old fish was on top of me," he said.

Howard said he was smacked in the face and ribs, Local 6's Tarik Minor reported. He was treated for the injuries at Bert Fish Medical Center.

"It was slapping me pretty hard," Howard said. "Yeah, it was throwing some good punches. Mike Tyson couldn't hit harder than that."

Howard's wife was conscious when the U.S. Coast Guard reached the boat in Edgewater. She was also transported to Bert Fish Medical Center with lacerations to her face.

Howard and his wife were found after officers received 911 calls from witnesses.

The dolphin was rolled back into the Intracoastal Waterway from the boat after injuring Howard and his wife.

Barbara Howard remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The chance of a dolphin jumping into a boat is 1 in 3,000,000, Local 6 reported.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.