Even though signs clearly indicate that swimming isn't allowed in the Bronx River, the restored river remains tempting to nearby residents. In the wake of the drowning deaths of two teens in a part of the river near the Bronx Zoo, one man told the Daily News he'd wait a few weeks—out of respect for the victims—before swimming again, "It's like flying - it's two seconds of freedom."
On Sunday afternoon, Crystal Reyes, 15, was with friends when she lost her footing on some rocks and fell into the river. David Luccioni, 17, jumped into the water, which was 15-20 feet deep, to save her, but, the Post reports, "both of them got tangled in a patch of debris and branches under the murky river and drowned." Reyes' mother Elva Torres wept as she recounted how she was teaching her daughter to swim—"I take her to the beach. I take her to the pool. I tell her how far to go in. I never let her go in without me"—but was thankful that Luccioni tried to save her.
Luccioni's father, David Sr., had left his son's usual breakfast—a roll and coffee—near the river along with two candles yesterday. He said, "I was going to buy him a punch-bag Tuesday. I was pumping up his bike to use. It's not supposed to be like this."
Mayor Bloomberg pointed out that there are three pools in the area, "You know, you can't put a police officer everyplace. I think the signage, from what I can tell, was legitimate. They drowned swimming in an off-limits area." But a teen showed the News how easy it was to jump over the fence: In spite of cracking his head while swimming, Halim Dzurlic came back, "My philosophy is, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
