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A man apparently nearly drowned at the Eichler Swim & Tennis Club late Friday afternoon, Aug. 4, Palo Alto Fire Department Battalion Chief Shane Yarbrough said.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, had been swimming in the deep end of the pool at the club, located at 3539 Louis Road. He was found at the bottom of the pool, the lifeguard on duty said. The guard had been keeping a close eye on a number of children who were swimming in the lanes in front of him when he was alerted by the man’s children that their father was in the pool.
He said he was unable to see the man, who was located near the pool’s concrete edge and at least 10 feet below the surface of the water.
“No one had been diving off the board, so I don’t think he hit his head. He didn’t have any head trauma,” the lifeguard said.
The guard immediately dove into the water and retrieved the man with the help of other pool members. They initiated CPR and brought out the AED defibrillator, and then police and fire personnel arrived.
Yarbrough said immediately after the incident that the paramedics administered CPR to the man but that the man had died. However, on Saturday, Yarbrough said he was double-checking on the man’s status after questions were raised by some in the community.
Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally later told this publication that the man apparently survived but that the hospital would not say his status.
The swim club remained open Friday evening and people were swimming. Daniel Flath, the club’s president, said he was going to reach out to the family to offer support.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time,” he said.
Tragic! Probably a heart attack or health issue where he didn’t even have time to scream for help. My condolences to the family.
This is tragic and a cause of death other than drowning may be the case here. My condolences to the family as they deal with this loss.
I think the lifeguard and those present at the time to witness what happened also need compassion. This is something that will take them a long time to recover from and the memory will not go away, ever.
So sad.
This article needs updating – he is in the hospital in critical condition. I am sure this must be so painful for the family to see misinformation spread.
@swmommy — Are you saying the man did NOT drown? That seems like a gross error on the part of the newspaper to report such misinformation. And also, the quoted comments in the article do NOT make sense? What is the real story?
swmommy — My information came from the Palo Alto Fire Department battalion chief. If you have information from the family, please put them in touch with me at sdremann@paweekly.com. I would like to talk to them directly to get the status, otherwise, I can only go with what the emergency authorities who attended to him have said.
@swmommy Thank you for tipping me off.
Update: Today Palo Alto Fire Battalion Chief Shane Yarbrough further investigated the status of the man after hearing from the community that he might still be alive.
I heard back via Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally that the man is still alive. His status has not been released by the hospital, according to McNally. I’ve updated the online story.
We’re glad to hear the man has not died and hope for the best for him and his family at this very difficult time.
I hope he makes it, and I hope and pray the family didn’t read the article. A tricky balance between meeting deadline and getting the story right.