By Scott Lewis
Riptide claims life in second drowning of summer
In a somber scene that has become as much a ritual in this barrier island as the changing of the seasons, a Bronx teenager drowned Saturday evening in Long Beach despite the heroic efforts of rescuers, who were able to safely pull the victim's brother and friend from the rough waters.
Brothers Maurice, 16, and Laurse Grey, 14, both of the Bronx, and Andre Redmond, 12, of Lindenhurst, entered the ocean sometime around 7 P.M. and were swept 50-to-75 yards offshore by a strong riptide, police said.
Thanks to Good Samaritans who raced into the water, Laurse and Andre were rescued along with Lawrence Epstein of Island Park. Mr. Epstein had attempted to save the boys but was pulled out by the tide. When the two boys and Mr. Epstein were brought to shore, family members told rescuers that Maurice was still under the water.
At 7:28 P.M., 20 minutes after the Long Beach Fire Department received the emergency call, Maurice was found by three off-duty lifeguards. CPR and Advanced Life Support were unsuccessfully performed and he was later pronounced dead at Long Beach Medical Center.
"It's a shame," said Long Beach fire captain Scott Kemins. "I wish we could educate these people not to go into the water when lifeguards aren't on duty. It isn't a swimming pool, it's an ocean. You're dealing with Mother Nature, you know."
Lifeguards clear the water of swimmers when they go off duty at 6 P.M.; it's the second drowning in Long Beach this summer, both of them when lifeguards were off duty.
The confusion during Saturday's tragedy--there were five bystanders, three off-duty lifeguards, the Long Beach Fire Department, the Island Park Fire Department Dive Team, two Coast Guard boats, an Army truck with a raft and a Nassau County police helicopter that took part in the rescue--led to conflicting details in Monday's Newsday story on the drowning. After interviews with a number of people at the scene, The Herald has pieced together the likely chain of events:
After Mr. Epstein went into the water attempting to help the boys, Jeff Rosner, a local surfer, and P.J. Bradley, an off-duty Long Beach Police Officer, were the next onlookers to join the makeshift rescue team. Within minutes, fellow bystanders John Kessler and Jamie Waskowiak also jumped into the ocean. All the while, an unidentified surfer used his board to float Laurse, Andre and Mr. Epstein in the water.
It wasn't until the two boys and Mr. Epstein were brought to the shore that the official rescue teams arrived at 7:10 P.M., Mr. Rosner and Mr. Kessler said. After an extensive search by the large rescue party, off-duty lifeguards Greg Northrop, Richard Schuh and Rich Borawski found the lifeless body of Maurice Grey, Mr. Kemins said.
"I couldn't sleep when I heard the kid died," Mr. Kessler said on Monday. "I just thought, 'Is there something I could have done? Could I have been faster?'"
While all four bystanders played integral roles in the rescue, according to Mr. Rosner and Mr. Kessler, the unidentified surfer was the biggest hero of the day. Mr. Kessler said the surfer, who introduced himself as "Anthony" before he walked away up the Riverside beach ramp, saved both Mr. Redmond and Mr. Epstein by placing them on his board on two separate trips.
"I think Anthony's a real hero," Mr. Kessler said. "Without him I don't think those two would have made it. Without a surfboard, another person dies."
