Man Drowns at Coney Island After Beach Closes

[eric myers 2]

July 5, 2005
Man Drowns at Coney Island After Beach Closes
By JENNIFER MEDINA and COLIN MOYNIHAN
A 20-year-old Sunset Park man drowned off Coney Island yesterday evening, less than 30 feet from the shore, the police said.

The man, whom the police did not identify, had been in the water for several minutes when people on the beach called the police about 8:20 p.m. to say that he was missing. Lifeguards had been off duty for more than two hours, but several swimmers were still in the water around dusk, witnesses said.

The police flew over the area in a helicopter, using a thermal imaging camera to locate the body. Within minutes, two police scuba divers went into the water, found the man and pulled him to shore. Rescue workers said he had a pulse but was not breathing.

"He looked lifeless," said Andre Chance, 37, of Flatbush, who was on the beach at the time.

The man was taken to Coney Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It was unclear whether he had been struggling in the water, the police said.

Three other swimmers have died at city beaches so far this year. On June 12, Luis Peralta, 24, of Queens, drowned while at Coney Island with friends.

That drowning prompted an investigation by city and state officials after some witnesses said that lifeguards had not responded quickly enough.

On June 5, Wade McDonald, 40, of Brooklyn, died of a heart attack off Rockaway Beach after swimming out to rescue a teenager who was caught in a riptide. The teenager, Jermaine Cohen, 16, also died. Lifeguards were not on duty at the time.

Eighteen people have drowned on city beaches since the beginning of the 2000 beach season, city officials have said. Thirteen of those drownings happened after hours, when lifeguards were not on duty.