ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) – An independent review on the death of a suicidal man in the waters off California’s coast while rescuers watched on shore faults the city of Alameda for not having a water rescue crew.
Report: Review of Crown Beach Incident (Alameda, CA)
Alameda released the 67-page review by a former state fire marshal Thursday. It details missteps by city authorities following 52-year-old Raymond Zack’s decision to wade into the shallow waters off Crown Beach on Memorial Day.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/qjAQUi ) that among those missteps, it cites police and firefighters’ failure to immediately call for a shallow-water boat from Oakland.
Zack remained in the water for a half hour before succumbing to hypothermia.
City officials have said they were unable to help Zack because their water rescue program had been discontinued. It has since been reinstated.
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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
