Results tagged “drowning”

The Palm Beach medical examiner's office says that Jeffry Picower, who allegedly took in $7 billion from friend Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, died by a drowning that was caused by a massive heart attack. ABC News reports, "[Dr. Michael] Bell told ABC News that the toxicology results will take ten weeks and if there is anything found that could have contributed to Picower's death he will amend the death certificate."

On Sunday, an Upper East Side father and daughter were swept up by a huge (some say 20-foot) wave along with other visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine. Clio Dahyun Axilrod, 7, drowned in the water and her body was found a few hours later by the U.S. Coast Guard. Her father Peter Axilrod and a girl from Maine were rescued while four others were able to swim back. Axilrod is in critical condition while his wife has a broken leg after being slammed to the ground by the wave.

Despite increasing warnings from Parks officials and a drowning death toll that continues to rise, swimmers are still finding their way into the Rockaways after lifeguards are off-duty, often into the night. The Times goes out to the Queens beaches to discover that "police officers patrol the area until 9 p.m. or so...but daring swimmers know to wait until the police leave to dive in, stepping past signs in English and Spanish warning against nighttime swimming." And one local resident tells the News, "Kids think it's just a big bathtub." City Councilman James Sanders held a community "brainstorming" session this week to discuss how to put an end to a deadly summer that has already claimed six victims, three times as many as all of last year. A Parks deputy described just how dangerous the waters can be by saying, "In certain weather conditions, particularly with a lot of south wind, the waves can create an opening in the bar. When that happens, it's like turning over a 5-gallon water cooler bottle and ripping the lid open - all the water comes rushing out." Here's a tutorial on what to do if you're caught in a rip current.

A deadly wave of drownings in the Rockaways has prompted the Parks Department to encourage heightened caution while swimming in what have been strong rip tides throughout the Queens shoreline this summer. Jose-Luis Olivares became the sixth swimmer to drown this summer while rescuing his wife and daughter; only two people died from drowning out there all of last year. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe points out that all six swimmers died at an unguarded beach or when there were no lifeguards on duty. With the first real heat wave of summer arriving this week, Parks officials called on swimmers to only go in while lifeguards are around. Benepe told the Post, "We have over 300 lifeguards and supervisors in the Rockaways. We also have 50 security personnel who patrol the beaches both before and after hours to prevent people from going into the water. There aren't many other municipalities that do that. We've sometimes been called beach Nazis."

A Queens man trying to rescue his wife and daughter became the latest victim to drown in the Rockaways this summer. 36-year-old father of two Jose-Luis Olivares of Ozone Park became the sixth person to fall prey to the rough tides along the Queens beaches, the second to die at Jacob Riis Park. Olivares went into the water after his wife and ten-year-old daughter around 7 p.m.—an hour after life guards go off-duty. An off-duty park ranger pulled Olivares out and he was airlifted to Peninsula Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both his wife and daughter survived; it was unclear how they managed to get out of the water. The victim's brother told the Post, "We're all feeling very bad right now because he was a hero today. He saved his daughter and his wife. He is a very good father — he loves his daughter. She is devastated." Parks officials continue to search for the body of Heyward "Winky" Patterson, who was pulled in while swimming late at night on a nearby beach earlier in the week.

Authorities think a 22-year-old man may have drowned last night, in an attempt to rescue a friend. According to the NY Post, Anthony Bolden, 21, went with his sister and his friend Jacob Reid, 20, to an area of [Jacob Riis Park] near Beach 149th Street just before 8 p.m."—a time with no lifeguards on duty. Bolden's sister said, "Jacob couldn't stay up in the water. The water kept pulling him in, so Anthony went in to get him." However, Reid managed to emerge, Bolden never did; the water reportedly had "four-foot waves" and "wind speed was nine miles per hour at the time of the 911 call." The search was suspended last night around 10 p.m. but has resumed this morning. Over the weekend, a teen died after getting caught in a Rockaways riptide and the Post raised the question of lifeguards wearing iPods while on duty.

A 19-year-old man from The Bronx drowned in Far Rockaway yesterday where he and his girlfriend had been enjoying a day at the beach. 19-year-old Daniel O'Neil swam outside the designated area near the East Rockaway Inlet near Beach 25th Street around 3 p.m. Lifeguards eventually pulled O'Neil out and and FDNY EMTs took him to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour later. O'Neil had just graduated from Mount St. Michael High School and volunteered in the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. He was set to attend John Jay College in the fall and hoped to one day be a lawyer. His aunt told the News, "He was a young kid who wanted to prove to himself that he was a young man. He was full of life, full of youth." Lifeguards say that there has been a strong riptide over the last two weekends, forcing an unusually high number of swimmers to be pulled out of the water. The National Weather Service has tips here on what to do if you are caught in rip currents.

The babysitter who was charged with child endangerment, a misdemeanor, for letting an eleven-month-old baby drown in a seven gallon bucket of water was in court yesterday. The infant's parents made it clear that they would like to see charges upped to negligent homicide after prosecutors claimed that 28-year-old sitter Kristal Khan was passed out on cold medicine during the incident. Khan was watching the victim, James Farrior III, along with her own two children out of the Richmond Hills house she used as an unlicensed day care center (none was required); the baby's mother, Chrisann Josiah, had found Khan through a craigslist ad. Josiah says that when Khan called her to say that Farrior had been taken away in an ambulance, the babysitter was "real calm." Josiah said to the News, "I was planning his birthday and now I'm planning his funeral." Yesterday in court, relatives of Farrior's screamed at Khan, leading the judge to have one of them removed. The Queens DA said charges may be upgraded once an autopsy is complete.

A Queens woman who ran a day care operation out of her home was arrested for child endangerment after an 11-month-old boy died in her care. The Post reports, "James Farrior was in the living room of caretaker Kristal Khan's home in Ozone Park with her two children, ages 3 and 4, at about 11 a.m. when the sitter went into another room...When she returned, she found James head-first in the bucket, which was three-quarters full." A neighbor told the NY Times, "A fireman was running down the street with a baby in his arms. The baby was totally limp and just hanging. Right away I knew the baby was in trouble." While Khan did not have a license to run a day care operation, the Times explains "the state requires day care providers to be licensed if they have more than two children — not counting their own — in their care for three or more hours a day on a regular basis." The ME's office is conducting an autopsy today. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned that drowning dangers to children are not limited to pools but also include buckets, toilets, fish tanks and more.

Yesterday morning, some friends were wading in the waters off Rockaway Peninsula at Beach 9th Street when one was swept up by a riptide. The Post reports, "A 35-year-old man was believed to have drowned yesterday after frantically trying to rescue a female companion who got pulled under." While an unconscious Daria Miranda, 24, surfaced in another area, Ramon Figera was missing and is assumed to have drowned. The Coast Guard told WCBS 2, "Whether they got into an area where they found themselves unable to touch bottom, or not able to swim, we're not certain." The pair, plus another friend, were in the water off the jetty around 8:15 a.m., nearly two hours before lifeguards report to duty; the Post noticed a sign next to the jetty that said, "Keep Off Jetty. No Diving." And a Far Rockaway resident told the Daily News, "The current on the bottom is very dangerous. All you have to do is go out 30 feet, and the current will grab you."

Yesterday, the body of 20-year-old Carlo Milito was pulled from a lake in Smallwood, in Sullivan County. Milito and two other friends from Brooklyn, cousins Domenico Coluccio, 19, and Anthony DuPont, 18, drowned after their boat capsized on Sunday. Sheriff Mike Schiff explained, "The temperature of the water, which was 48 or 49 degrees, gives an immediate shock to the system – to the lungs, muscles – you cramp and start to develop hypothermia very quickly. They were also wearing layered clothing which absorbs the water and that will weigh you down to the bottom."

Authorities say that two teens drowned and one is still missing after their boat capsized in the Smallwood Reservoir in Sullivan County yesterday around 1:30 p.m. A fourth person, Gianfranco Generoso, 20, managed to swim to shore.

A Staten Island mother has been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after her four-month-old baby drowned in the bath tub. The infant, Kelis Gilmore, was discovered in the tub of their home with the water running late last night by her 7-year-old brother. Their 4-year-old sister was also home and reported to have possibly been in the bathroom as well during the drowning. When police arrived, the mother, Cheyenne Holmes, was hysterical as two neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to perform CPR on the baby. The girl was pronounced dead upon arrival to Staten Island University Hospital.

After Friday's dangerous day where two people drowned and two others were missing off NYC and Long Island beaches, more people were caught by the waters. In Long Beach, 29-year-old man was struggling in the waters; though lifeguards reached him quickly, he died on the way to the hospital. And off Coney Island, a 10-year-old girl is still missing of the waters while another child was pulled from the same waters earlier in the day. The Coast Guard said, ""The undertows and rip tides have been particularly strong around the beaches for the past few weeks. The Coast Guard continues to urge the public to use caution while enjoying the water in areas known for rip tides."

Newsday called yesterday a "deadly day for the Island's ocean beaches," given two people drowned and two are still missing after being dragged into the waters. Two men went missing off Jacob Riis Park in Queens; one 21-year-old was rescued by divers, bu a 23-year-old is still missing. At Long Beach, 18-year-old and 22-year-old cousins were swept out; the older cousin was rescued but later died while the younger is still missing. And 25-year-old man drowned off Southampton. The Coast Guard said "riptides were particularly strong [yesterday]," and a meteorologist told Newsday, "If you become caught in a rip current, stay calm and don't fight it. Swim parallel to the shore until you break free from the current," and when you're out, swim at an angle towards the beach, "A lot of people panic. You should float or tread water."

The FDNY revealed a firefighter at Ladder 111 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn died while saving his 10-year-old son who from drowning on Monday. The Daily News says firefighter Martin Simmons was vacationing in Lake Tahoe with his family when his son "developed a leg cramp while swimming" in the 50-degree water. Simmons "had a hard time staying above water" and his death was ruled an accidental drowning. His body arrived at JFK Airport yesterday, and an FDNY honor guard escorted the body back to Long Island. Police arrested a man who was trying to speed past the procession; the driver claimed he was going to the funeral but didn't know who it was for when asked.

Long Island police continue to investigate the death of a nanny who jumped into pool to save one of her charges in Syosset, Nassau County. Ana Maria Montano de Gimenez could not swim and appeared to die of a heart attack; her employer, Rubian Saunders, had heard her screams but could only manage to pull out her 3-year-old son, who was revived and is being monitored at a hospital. Still, Gimenez's family and friends want answers. Yesterday, an 8-year-old boy drowned in a relative's pool in Queens; the American Academy of Pediatrics has a list of pool safety tips for children.

A nanny in Syosset, Long Island died after jumping into a backyard pool when her 3-year-old charge was struggling in the water. Nassau police spokesman Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone said the boy had been wearing a life vest, but "It's possible that the 3-year-old child removed his jacket and got into the pool."

A boy who recently graduated middle school drowned yesterday afternoon after jumping into the Reynolds Channel off Long Beach. Leo Vann and his friends had been at the skateboard park, and Vann decided to jump in to cool off. Though Vann reportedly could swim, it's believed he got caught in the undercurrent. Witnesses were unsuccessful in saving him and it took rescuers over 30 minutes to pull Vann from the water. His mother questioned why the skateboard park wasn't better supervised (however, Newsday noted a "no swimming" sign nearby).

Last weekend a mystery surfer saved the life of Brian Jordan, who was struggling in the water 100 yards off the shore of Coney Island. The story surfaced with a photo on the cover of the Daily News late last week (a surefire way to crack the case) and lo and behold, the mystery man has been unmasked...or rather, outed by his family. Turns out the hero is humble, and just a bit shy of the spotlight.

Kevin Campion, a 30-year-old ship's captain from Seattle, doesn't mind if his lifesaving deed goes unrewarded.

Continue reading "Superhero Surfer Unmasked!"

In a headline ripped from a superhero flick, the Daily News is reporting that a drowning man, Brian Jordan, was saved by a solo surfer off the shore of Coney Island last weekend. Jordan is now trying to find his saviour, who fled the scene after carrying him 100+ yards back to shore and saving his life.

The idea sounds preposterous at first, but a pair of retired NYPD detectives believes that a gang of serial killers are responsible for the deaths of at least 40 young men across 11 states.