New Jersey woman dead - Key West

[DandyDon]

Experienced diver dies diving off Key West

A woman from New Jersey who had extensive diving experience died while diving off Key West Thursday, the second Florida Keys dive or snorkel death in a week.

Patricia Simmons, 66, from Teaneck and her husband were with a Dive Key West boat at the wreck of the Cayman Salvager on the Atlantic side of the islands. According to the vessel’s crew, she got into the water and began to descend, says Deputy Becky Herrin from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

She said one of the dive masters on board chased after her, catching up to her at 60 feet, and began to bring her back to the surface. But Simmons struggled, Herrin said, as if she were panicking, and kept trying to remove her mask. At the surface, she kept trying to spit out her regulator and then lost consciousness, Herrin said.

Simmons was pulled aboard the vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard was called and the crew began CPR. The Coast Guard transported her to shore, where they were met by Key West Rescue. Simmons was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Simmons was an experienced certified diver with more than 100 past dives. An autopsy will be performed.


On July 26 during the first day of the two-day lobster mini-season, William Biddle, 79, of Temple Terrace in North Florida died while snorkeling for lobster off Bahia Honda in the Lower Keys. Biddle, snorkeling while being towed behind a boat, had “difficulty in the water and did not survive,” a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman said.

An autopsy will be performed. Results of autopsies from dive and snorkel deaths can take some time get.

 

[Texasguy]

Why did a DM chase after her? I bet something happened on the surface. Never seen a DM chase after descending divers at a start of a dive.

 

[Wookie]

14 lbs and a steel 120. She had never worn a steel tank and refused to do a buoyancy check.

 

[wgw04024]

That's a fair amount of weight for warm water. An average BCD should still be able to keep her buoyant when she went into the water.

 

[SoFlaDiver954]

14 lbs and a steel 120. She had never worn a steel tank and refused to do a buoyancy check.

Is this an example of why a DM would chase after a diver or is this what happened to the deceased? I have not seen any details, but I know your connections run deep...

 

[Dan]

Sad. Condolences to her husband, family & friends. This is the 2nd time I read about a diver plunged into the water, chased by DM & ended up dead. The first one is this: Canadian woman presumed dead - Roatan, Honduras

This reminds me of the importance of a checkout dive when you dive for the first time in a dive trip after a few months of not diving or having a new setup / gear.

 

[Wookie]

Is this an example of why a DM would chase after a diver or is this what happened to the deceased? I have not seen any details, but I know your connections run deep...

This happened in this case.

 

[Steve_C]

14 lbs and a steel 120.

I dive a steel 100 and use 14 lbs in saltwater with a 5mm wetsuit + hooded vest and I am probably a couple pounds heavy since I do not want to be light on the hang bar at 300 psi if it should come to that.

 

[Texasguy]

I dive 130HP in salt, zero weights.

 

[Texasguy]

Anyway, she was allowed to jump off. Thus, something happened before she went under. Maybe she did not ok a dm, then went down. They decided it was odd and chased after her...