Sund Rock death on Sunday 7/24/2022

[David O'Neill]

This was posted on Facebook by an instructor who was there (not her instructor):

The diver at Sund Rock:
1. The Shop was Salem Scuba from Salem Oregon.
2. The diver was a woman from Oregon, in her 50’s or 60’s.
3. The group had just completed the Open Water Course the day before.
4. They were on the first dive of the Advanced Course, doing a Deep Dive. There was an Instructor and I believe four Students.
5. The diver panicked, and made for the surface. At some point prior to reaching the surface she removed her mask and her regulator.
6. She was unresponsive at the surface. The Instructor yelled for us to call 911. Three of us did so.
7. A group of us took turns with CPR, administering chest compressions and rescue breaths, until EMS arrived about ten minutes after 911 was called.
8. EMS worked on her for over two hours. They tried everything there was to try. They worked their asses off trying to revive her. They were unsuccessful.

(When I posted this I didnt see anyone else had, but now theres two of us)

These sudo-facts should have never been posted, it is irresponsible. 4, 5, and 6 are inaccurate.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

These sudo-facts should have never been posted, it is irresponsible. 4, 5, and 6 are inaccurate.

Would you care to enlighten us? I wasn't there, but I have spoken to two people who were.

 

[David O'Neill]

This was posted on FB by one of the people who administered CPR:

The diver at Sund Rock:
1. The Shop was Salem Scuba from Salem Oregon.
2. The diver was a woman from Oregon, in her 50’s or 60’s.
3. The group had just completed the Open Water Course the day before.
4. They were on the first dive of the Advanced Course, doing a Deep Dive. There was an Instructor and I believe four Students.
5. The diver panicked, and made for the surface. At some point prior to reaching the surface she removed her mask and her regulator.
6. She was unresponsive at the surface. The Instructor yelled for us to call 911. Three of us did so.
7. A group of us took turns with CPR, administering chest compressions and rescue breaths, until EMS arrived about ten minutes after 911 was called.
8. EMS worked on her for over two hours. They tried everything there was to try. They worked their asses off trying to revive her. They were unsuccessful.
Many of you might now think about discussing the rights and wrongs of all that happened. There’s a LOT to go over with this accident. I only ask that you be respectful in your comments. Thanks.
Fins up, dive safe.

Irresponsible post. People on shore had no idea what happened.

 

[David O'Neill]

Would you care to enlighten us? I wasn't there, but I have spoken to two people who were.

No, frankly it is none of your business.

 

[David O'Neill]

Hearsay on the Facebook page is that the diver also dropped her weights.

First time I went to 100' was at Sund Rock, and it was intimidating. Awful thing it went so bad for her, and couldn't be fixe

 

[David O'Neill]

You should have stopped when you understood you were dealing with hearsay.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Irresponsible post. People on shore had no idea what happened.

Well it is our business. Dive safety is everyone's business. We are not interested in tar and feathering your dive shop.

We are interested in learning what in the system can be corrected to mitigate tragic events like this from happening.

Too many accidents are swept under the rug.

 

[OrcasC205]

First time I went to 100' was at Sund Rock, and it was intimidating. Awful thing it went so bad for her, and couldn't be fixed.

My wife and I did dives 3 and 4 of our AOW at Sund Rock including our deep dive on the same South Wall where the fatality occurred and yes, it was very intimidating. Of course, we had at least a dozen dives (mostly in Puget Sound) after our Open Water certifications; a 1:2 instructor to student ratio; and a very thorough pre-dive briefing on what to expect. So when my wife began to experience the “dark narc” at about 100 feet, it was a non-issue for us to safely ascend up the slope. I can’t begin to understand the logic of taking freshly certified OW divers on their deep dive there as the first dive of AOW.

 

[David O'Neill]

Well it is our business. Dive safety is everyone's business. We are not interested in tar and feathering your dive shop.

We are interested in learning what in the system can be corrected to mitigate tragic events like this from happening.

Too many accidents are swept under the rug, like you are attempting to do here.

There is nothing to correct, all procedures were followed. The Instructor was able to slow the diver's panicked accent.

All proper care was provided, even the EMTs were impressed at the level of incident management.

So you can make all the assumptions you what, but the fact remains, sometimes there is nothing that can be done.

There is no cover up, there is only waiting for the real facts to be discovered.

 

[David O'Neill]

There's probably nothing you can share and hopefully people do not speculate.

The only people there were 3 students and the instructor, the Divemaster was about 225 feet away, taking care of another student...and everyone else who 'witnessed' this accident were 300 ft away and on the other side of a rock wall.

So any 'facts' posted here is just guess work, and partial information.