News
SB Commends Heroes In Beach Rescue
By Ryan Fennell
SEA BRIGHT - On Tuesday night, the Borough of Sea Bright presented Peter O'Mara, James Casazza, Sean Smyth, Dr. Ted Kutzin, and Dr. Brian Torpey with letters of commendation for their life-saving efforts on the Sea Bright beach on September 7th.
O'Mara was on the beach conversing with both Kutzin and Torpey about an hour before he went in the water to surf. According to O'Mara the water was extremely rough that day with large powerful waves. After riding a long wave that carried him all the way to shore he heard a woman screaming over his shoulder.
"I was about to just pick up my board and get out of the water but then I heard the screaming," O'Mara said.
O'Mara turned to see what the woman was screaming about and saw a man's body floating in the surf of a wave.
O'Mara rushed into the water and grabbed ahold of the man and carried him to shore.
"I thought that I was carrying a dead man out of the water," O'Mara said. "When I put him down on the sand something inside me told me that there was still life in this man. He wasn't breathing, and he was blue but I sensed some kind of life energy."
An anonymous emergency room nurse was nearby and assisted O'Mara in initial life- saving techniques.
"It was a frenzy," O'Mara said. "I remember just screaming that there were doctors on the beach and then they ran over like bionic men." "He was clinically dead," Kutzin said. "We had no equipment so I just started giving him mouth-to-mouth and CPR." According to Kutzin the waves were still crashing over the man and the rescuers so the group carried the man on top of a ridge that had been formed from a previous storm.
Torpey assisted by searching the man for a pulse but couldn't find one.
"He didn't have a pulse for about two minutes after he was pulled from the water," Torpey said.
Through the efforts of the beachgoers the man's pulse returned and equipment arrived with First Aid.
The man had been body boarding and was thrown to the sea floor. He hit his head and broke his neck.
According to Torpey, the man said that when he hit his head he heard a crack and knew that he was going to die because he couldn't move his arms or legs. After the first aid arrived the man was taken to the hospital. He recovered entirely after a few weeks stay.
"He left the hospital with only some weakness in his hands but he was cogent and clear headed when he left the hospital," Torpey said.
"It was a miracle," O'Mara added.
At the same council meeting the Borough awarded Sea Bright Special Officer Josh Black with the Life Saving Medal for his response to a woman choking outside of the municipal courtroom on October 9th.
Black recently graduated from the Monmouth County Police Academy in May of this year. During municipal court proceedings the alarm to the outer door was set off. Black left the courtroom to see what was wrong and saw a woman outside of the building choking.
"When I stepped outside the woman was going down to her knees," Black said. "Her husband was attempting to give her the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful."
Black then performed the Heimlich on the woman and on the third attempt the object became dislodged. First Aid arrived and brought the woman to Monmouth Medical Center for follow up.
"I graduated in May so the rescue techniques were nice and fresh in my mind," Black said.
Mayor Maria Fernandes was overjoyed with the efforts of community members.
"We're very proud of moments like these when one or more of our own is able to save someone's life."
