A 48-year-old Pennsylvania man died overnight after being rescued from the Atlantic Ocean off Corolla on Tuesday, after he went into the waves topping 12 feet to try and save his daughter.
The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. off the Ocean Sands neighborhood on the Currituck Outer Banks, according to Currituck County Fire and EMS Chief Ralph Melton.
No swimming flags have been flying for days along the Outer Banks due to giant waves generated by onshore winds, distant Hurricane Teddy and higher than normal tides.
Within three minutes of a 911 call, lifeguards from Corolla Beach Rescue arrived located the man and removed him from the water in cardiac arrest.
Firefighter paramedics from Currituck County Fire and EMS and members of Corolla Fire and Rescue provided Advanced Life Support care almost immediately after the man’s rescue and he regained a pulse.
Currituck County Sheriff’s Office deputies, lifeguards, and bystanders dug a trench in the sand to divert ocean water from washing over the EMS crews and the patient.
“The daughter was found safe on the beach after being able to exit the water before lifeguards arrived,” Melton said.
The victim, who was visiting the Outer Banks from out-of-town, was flown by Nightingale Air Ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he passed away overnight.
