A man died after jumping into the water after his 11-year-old son started to struggle in the ocean in Atlantic City Monday morning before lifeguards were on duty, authorities said.
The boy, who was able to make it to shore at the New Jersey Avenue beach, was hospitalized, Atlantic City police said in a statement. The father has not been identified, but Sgt. Kevin Fair said he was a 59-year-old Reading, Pennsylvania resident. The 11-year-old went into the water Monday morning and started to struggle, police said. The father went in to help and had trouble staying above the water, police said.
A good Samaritan on the beach grabbed a boogie board and went into the Atlantic Ocean to help, according to police. The Samaritan - a retired police officer from Amsterdam, New York - found the struggling father under the water and tried to pull him onto the board.
By that time, Atlantic City Beach Patrol Chief Steve Downey and firefighters had arrived to help and assisted the retired cop and the father to shore.