Law enforcement identified the victim as Magdaleno Simmons. She was taken to
First responders performed CPR before whisking her from
Hospital workers didn’t provide any information on her condition Thursday evening.
Yellow flags were flying over the beach, and the surf conditions were mild, Ford said. He and other witnesses said they suspected Simmons might have had an underlying medical condition that led her to collapse in the water, and she was probably not a victim of a rip current.
Even before medics got to Simmons she had the benefit of the “valiant efforts” of Ben Drake, Samuel Scott and Thad Calhoun, said witness Dave Hegener, who was visiting the park with his wife Gracie from
“There were a couple guys here that were leaders and heroes,” Hegener said.
Scott, a public safety official from
“I thought maybe she had fainted,” he said.
Drake and Calhoun said they watched Simmons floating face-down in the water for about a minute before they realized something was wrong. From the shore it appeared she was snorkeling without snorkeling equipment. Her head appeared to bob, and Drake thought maybe she was looking for fish.
Almost simultaneously, both men rushed to her and pulled her from the surf. Drake is a first-year student at the Alabama College of Medicine. Calhoun is a diving instructor.
Calhoun performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and the others took turns with chest compressions until first responders arrived. Calhoun said they arrived quickly, but “It felt like forever.”
Drake said they had some success getting water out of Simmons’ lungs, but he couldn’t find her pulse. Calhoun and Scott said they felt a faint pulse. They didn’t know her condition.
“My prayer is that she’s doing fine,” Scott said.
No saltwater drownings in
