Photo courtesy Fordham Athletics via Twitter
A Monmouth Beach lifeguard visiting Florida with his friends helped save a man’s life off the coast of Miami Beach last week.
Connor Wright, a lifeguard at Little Monmouth beach, and his fellow Fordham University swim team members Dillane Wehbe and Patrick Wilson were enjoying the afternoon Jan. 10 body surfing through waves about 6 to 7 feet high, said Wright. They were there on a swim team training trip. Suddenly, a rip current formed and swimmers were told to get out of the water.
Once they made it back on the sand, the young men saw someone struggling in the rip current about 500 to 600 meters off shore.
They sprang into action. Wehbe was the first to jump back into the water, followed by Wright. Wilson tried to get the attention of the lifeguards on duty, but “visibility was pretty low so I don’t think they saw him,” said Wright. So, Wilson followed the two into the water.
The rescue was particularly difficult because they did not have the proper equipment, Wright said, like a flotation device, torpedo buoy or line bucket. “We were struggling to get him in because this current was probably one of the stronger ones we’ve been in,” he said.
Once they got the man ashore, Wright stayed with the man to ensure he was alright and the other two brought the lifeguards over to see if he needed an oxygen tank. They were worried he “took on too much water” and were afraid of “secondary drowning,” Wright said.
The man was swimming alone, but his wife was on the beach. The couple is from Chicago, Illinois, and did not know much about the ocean, Wright said. “He didn’t really know he was in danger until it was too late.”
“We were just thankful to be able to be there,” said Wright. “Having three ocean lifeguards there at the time was just a miracle in itself, because we were able to help.” This was not the first time any of the young men had saved someone from the water.
And the story doesn’t end there.
“After everything was situated and the paperwork was filled out, he added us on Facebook,” said Wright. Now they can check in on one another whenever they want to.
Wright, a sophomore at Fordham University, has been a champion swimmer for many years. He is the former captain of the Red Bank YMCA National Championship Team, the Surfrider Beach Club summer team and the Christian Brothers Academy swim team.
Now a lifeguard at Little Monmouth and a member of the Monmouth County Lifeguard National Team, Wright runs a junior lifeguard program at Little Monmouth.
This story originally appeared in the Jan. 16, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
