Unidentified man being rescued early Wednesday morning, 5/15/13. Screen capture from CBS8.
A man who jumped off the OB Pier early Wednesday morning – May 15 – had to be rescued by San Diego lifeguards. His brother told a TV station that the two had been drinking alcohol on the Pier, when he jumped into the ocean – around 1:30 to 1:40 a.m.
Lifeguards struggled to get the rather large guy onto their rescue craft, but did finally manage to get him to shore. Once on land, he was evaluated by paramedics and taken to UCSD Medical Center for treatment.
Adding to the difficulty of the rescue besides the man’s size, was the rather rough surf, and some immediate staffing shortages with the lifeguards.
Two lifeguards had jumped off the Pier after the man and another set out in a small boat in efforts to rescue him. When the small lifeguard craft reached him, he was too heavy to pull over the side of the boat. When more lifeguards reached them, they were able to complete the rescue. The U-T reported that one lifeguard reached the man on a surfboard, but could not rescue him due to the surf.
One TV station was told that there was a 20 minute delay in waiting for backup, due to staffing issues. The semi-conscious man was brought to shore around 2 a.m. and placed into a waiting ambulance, and whisked away to the hospital.
News sources:
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Reminds me of the Summer of 1967, super hot day in OB, so what did we do? We grabbed our surfboards, walked to the end of the pier, and jumped off. We all had fun and no one got in trouble.
Nothing like a free fall and chilly late night swim off the Pier to sober you up after a long night of drinking in the bars along Newport Ave.