Good Samaritan killed at monastery Saturday

[pacificgal]

Attempting to rescue a child and her mother who were swept into the ocean. Waves were 8-10 feet high. He pulled one victim out and was trying to get the second but was too exhausted. An off-duty lifeguard who happened to drive by jumped in to help. Good Samaritan lost consciousness on the beach and died, possibly from a heart attack, the two victims remain in the hospital in intensive care

 

[andrewy]

thats sad.

 

[Ben_ca]

Someone was asking about a Monastery incident this weekend when we were diving Monday... Sad that people still don't pay heed to the signs

 

[KMD]

People dont realize that when you jump into water that cold without exposure protection you don't have that long before hypothermia sets in and you just can physically keep your head above the water.

Very sad.

 

[Hepcat62]

My girlfriend and I were at Lobos on Saturday when the Carmel FD came roaring into Whaler's Cove to launch their Zodiak. I knew some people had been swept out - I didn't realize somebody had jumped in. I can tell you that when we drove past Monastery that afternoon on the way home the waves were such that I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere CLOSE to the water - regardless of whether I knew about Monastery's extra dangers or not. With those waves at Monastery I wouldn't have gone past the top of the dune...

It's incredibly sad that people don't pay attention to the signs. Incidents like this are 100% preventable.

 

[fdog]

All that work placed into the signs (thanks, Doc Wong!), and tragedies like this still happen. I guess our society is so bombarded by liability-deflecting warnings every day, that we let our gaze just slide by the real-deal warnings. Sadness.

Monastery is still one of my favorite dives on the planet, though.


All the best, James

 

[mikemill]

CARMEL, Calif- An ocean rescue leaves one person dead and three in the hospital. The Monterey County Sheriffs Department told Central Coast News a mother, daughter and what they thought to be a granddaughter (child) were swept into the ocean and taken out by an intense current Saturday, July 3rd.

When rescue officials arrived, they found that seven people had actually been pulled into the water, two from the tide and at least two trying to rescue the victims.

A bystander entered the water to try and rescue the three drowning victims. He was able to bring one to shore, but was unable to save the others before rescue teams arrived. Those four people were taken to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula—where the rescuer died.

The other victims were strong enough to swim to shore themselves. Monday Central Coast News spoke with one of the firs responders for details on the rescue.

Witnesses say the beach was crowded on Saturday when a huge wave took three people under spurring a few bystanders to jump into the 52 degree water to save them.

Kevin Brady is a state lifeguard he was off duty on Saturday when he drove by and saw the commotion going on at the beach. When he realized there was still someone in the water he grabbed his wet suit and surf board and swam out to save the women still struggling in the water, he was able to get her to shore safely.

Brady said accidents like this happen often at Monastery Beach, "That's unfortunately what happens here often you get the good samaritan who wants to help they get down there and they end up being the next victim,"

Even though there are warning signs posted about these dangerous waves, tourists often walk right past them and are unaware of the potential hazard, "You see these kids down here playing wave tag. You got to supervise your children you can't let them near the water here. The force and strength of the shore break is much stronger than people imagine, " said Brady.

Lifeguards say the best and safest place to enjoy the view and the beach is from the top of the hill.

Submitted by Shannon Hogan, Central Coast News.

Very sad and very infuriating.

 

[pacificgal]

Thanks for the post, Mike, I was getting my info off Channel 2 news this morning. I saw a ton of people at Monastery when I left Lobos yesterday afternoon at 3, wondered to myself how many of them had looked at the sign because waves seemed to be up yesterday afternoon, yet there were people all over. I suppose having a lifeguard at that beach would give people the impression it was OK to swim there?

 

[diveguy1]

Monastery is one of my favorite dives, and it's just so tragic that another life was lost there. Although the warnings weren't heeded this time, the signs have certainly saved lives and will help prevent similar tragedies in the future.

There's no other word for the rescuer who lost his life - HERO.