Man pulled unconscious from Green River dies in hospital
SEATTLE -- The 19-year-old man who was rescued from the Green River on Monday afternoon has died.
King County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Cindi West said the Ravensdale man was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday.
The man, a recent high school graduate, had been at a swimming hole near Kanastat State Park Monday afternoon.
The group was initially swimming in a shallow, slow-moving section of the river, but the man decided to venture out into an area with a stronger current and colder temperatures, West said.
The family told rescuers the man was seen struggling to stay afloat before he went under. His father swam out to his aid, and both ended up being swept down the river.
The father tried to bring his son to safety, but was unable to hang on.
"The dad said he (the son) almost drowned him, because the son was panicking so much," West said Monday.
A pair of nearby swimmers who saw the struggle managed to pull the man to a river bank. By then the man, who had already been underwater for seven or eight minutes, had lost consciousness.
Those men immediately started CPR and King County rescue crews arrived a short time later. The man was airlifted to the Seattle hospital.
The man's identity has not been released.
King County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Cindi West said the Ravensdale man was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday.
The man, a recent high school graduate, had been at a swimming hole near Kanastat State Park Monday afternoon.
The group was initially swimming in a shallow, slow-moving section of the river, but the man decided to venture out into an area with a stronger current and colder temperatures, West said.
The family told rescuers the man was seen struggling to stay afloat before he went under. His father swam out to his aid, and both ended up being swept down the river.
The father tried to bring his son to safety, but was unable to hang on.
"The dad said he (the son) almost drowned him, because the son was panicking so much," West said Monday.
A pair of nearby swimmers who saw the struggle managed to pull the man to a river bank. By then the man, who had already been underwater for seven or eight minutes, had lost consciousness.
Those men immediately started CPR and King County rescue crews arrived a short time later. The man was airlifted to the Seattle hospital.
The man's identity has not been released.
