DEATH VALLEY, CA – A long-term Death Valley National Park volunteer passed away on Saturday following complications while participating in a routine swim test to maintain his National Park Service dive certification.
Thomas Jaskulski, 72, had been a key member of the Devils Hole Dive Team since 1992. As part of the Dive Team, Jaskulski scuba dived in Devils Hole to conduct scientific monitoring of the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish.
The incident occurred in a swimming pool at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center in Palm Desert, California around 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 18.
Jaskulski and one other volunteer diver were participating in routine testing to maintain their National Park Service (NPS) dive certification. The test included swimming 2,700 feet in less than 18 minutes while wearing a snorkel, mask, and fins. The Death Valley National Park dive officer and two volunteers monitored the swimmers from the pool deck.
Jaskulski had nearly completed the swim test when the NPS dive officer proctoring the test noticed he started having trouble swimming.
The NPS employee and volunteers pulled Jaskulski from the pool. After not being able to find a pulse, they began CPR. Lifeguards soon applied an AED.
He regained a pulse while in the ambulance, but stayed in critical condition in Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. He passed away about a week later on Saturday, March 24.
Investigations are being conducted by a NPS serious accident investigation team and by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Jaskulski is survived by his wife, daughter, and grandson. He will be greatly missed by employees and volunteers at Death Valley National Park and by a strong network of friends.
A resident of La Quinta, California, Jaskulski was a respected leader in the diving community. The Divers Alert Network named him diver of the year in 2004. The National Association of Cave Diving gave him the Wakulla Award in 2000.
