November 2, 2011 Florida Keys Diver Death

[diversdaughter]

And thank you, DandyDon, I will search for him. I haven't found anything anywhere else online either. Not even on the Sheriff's website. I will definitely share in the greatest detail possible once I receive the info, hopefully on Tuesday now.

 

[reefman]

they were diving the benwood and tied to a mooring ball. winds were E/NE 12-14KTS with higher gusts according to the historical data from MLRF1(molasses reef)(approx 4 miles south). the incident was not reported on any local news sources or law enforcement incident releases to the public. as a side note, i did mention the incident on another accident thread shortly after the event and was perplexed why no info was disseminated via any local news or law enforcement sources( i was informed by way of a close friend of one of the owners of OD),,,,,,,,,,,,


reefman
key largo

 

[diversdaughter]

It's funny you mention nothing in the media, reefman. Stuck waiting up here in New York I started searching the local news for any extra tidbits of info. People can't learn from incidents if they aren't shared. Even in a situation like this where it appears to have been just one of those things, I'm sure there is still valuable information to be gleaned. As far as I know, none of us are getting any younger and as the diving population ages there may be special adjustments or considerations that need to be made.

I feel bad that I haven't reached out to OD yet but I figured considering there was an active investigation going on they might not want to talk to me. Please thank your friend on my behalf for sharing the information with you.

 

[diversdaughter]

As promised:

The decedent was a 65 year old male who was scuba diving from a commercial dive boat. Upon entering the water he almost immediately got separated from his dive partner and the other divers and was seen floating 100 (not 1000!) feet behind the boat and signaling that he needed help. (This makes a whole heck of a lot more sense than he floated away and did nothing.) A crew member entered the water and swam to him. The decedent was conscious and alert and indicated that he was too tired to swim back to the boat. The crew member pulled the decedent back to the boat where he was found to be unconscious and not breathing. CPR was started by the crew and continued as the boat returned to port. The vessel was met in port by the Coast Guard and Key Largo Rescue where he was pronounced diseased (sic). Marine condition at the time of the incident were rough seas with strong and gusty winds and a noticeable current.

Summary:
The decedent had a severe underlying heart condition due to hypertension (hypertensive heart disease). By performing strenuous activities over what he normally would have been doing in his daily life, his condition could have been exacerbated resulting in his death.

Cause of Death: Hypertensive Heart Disease

Contributory Factors: Strenuous exertion

Manner of Death: Accident

How injury occurred: Swimming in rough seas with gusty winds and a strong current.

So. Not a scuba diving accident, per se, however he did not know he had hypertensive heart disease and considering how often he visited the doctor, that's pretty frightening. I guess nothing much for you guys to learn here but I promised to post it so there you have it. I feel like I've been playing that game telephone with everyone. 1000 feet, conscious, not conscious, asked for help, no he didn't, etc...but it's good to finally know. Thank you all for having been so kind, helpful and generous with your time.

Jennifer ~ diversdaughter

 

[mselenaous]

Thank you for sharing these results. We rarely get to read the actual final results of investigations when incidents occur. That sometimes leads to a lot of speculation.

 

[shortdivemedic]

Jennifer
Sorry for your loss I know how hard it is. Thanks for posting the results also.

Michael

 

[diversdaughter]

You're welcome guys. I also spoke with Ocean Divers and thanked them for all they did for dad. Perhaps they suspected a cardiac issue and that's why there was no official report anywhere.

 

[ahava]

I get sick and tired of people speculating on how easy and fun it is to die while diving or anything else. Having a heart attack while diving is NOT my way of happily 'going out doing the thing I like to do' or any other time. People who make remarks like this are insulting to the departed. My brother died a month ago at 73 'in his sleep'. Yeah? How does one know that he was asleep and didn't lay there in agony for hours till he finally died and was found the next day?

These comments are given to give solice and comfort to the the victims family and not to say how great it would be to die that way. You should be ashamed of yourself for taking that from them. Yeah we dont know but neither do you.

 

[DandyDon]

...he did not know he had hypertensive heart disease and considering how often he visited the doctor, that's pretty frightening.

If you don't mind, I wonder if you spoke with his physician about this?

 

[Johnoly]

As promised:.... Thank you all for having been so kind, helpful and generous with your time.

Thanks Jennifer for giving us the followup. Very few help us learn from accidents like this.