Submitted by DougH (not verified) on Sun, 07/03/2011 - 2:56am.
I was a few hundred yards away when this happened, jogged down the beach to see what all the commotion was about, and witnessed the last part of the beach rescue attempt. I can't speak to how many lifeguards were officially on duty that day, but...
Several of the emergency vehicles that responded moved off the ATV path on the beach to get closer to the rescue personnel at the water's edge. One of the vehicles got stuck in the sand while attempting to get back up on the ATV path, and within seconds the lifeguards got behind the vehicle and pushed it back up onto the path. I wasn't counting exact numbers, but there was certainly more than 5 people in reddish-orange shorts pushing that vehicle.
I don't know the victim personally, but I know others who have lost loved ones in accidents that were in the newspapers and such. The lessons from this tragedy: the importance of swimming and PFDs in water safety, are immediately obvious to anyone reading the story. Highlighting those things hurts the feelings of the victim's loved ones while accomplishing nothing productive in the process. I think that questions like the one about how many lifeguards are on duty are valid ones. Many other posts on this message board are not. Please weigh the value of your comments against the hurt they may cause before you post them.
Where did you hear that there were only 5 lifeguards?
I was a few hundred yards away when this happened, jogged down the beach to see what all the commotion was about, and witnessed the last part of the beach rescue attempt. I can't speak to how many lifeguards were officially on duty that day, but...
Several of the emergency vehicles that responded moved off the ATV path on the beach to get closer to the rescue personnel at the water's edge. One of the vehicles got stuck in the sand while attempting to get back up on the ATV path, and within seconds the lifeguards got behind the vehicle and pushed it back up onto the path. I wasn't counting exact numbers, but there was certainly more than 5 people in reddish-orange shorts pushing that vehicle.
I don't know the victim personally, but I know others who have lost loved ones in accidents that were in the newspapers and such. The lessons from this tragedy: the importance of swimming and PFDs in water safety, are immediately obvious to anyone reading the story. Highlighting those things hurts the feelings of the victim's loved ones while accomplishing nothing productive in the process. I think that questions like the one about how many lifeguards are on duty are valid ones. Many other posts on this message board are not. Please weigh the value of your comments against the hurt they may cause before you post them.