A Massachusetts family’s beach outing turned into tragedy when a father of four was swept by a riptide and died after he jumped in the water to save his 12-year-old son.
Gary Simard, 44, of Methuen, and his family were spending Wednesday at Salisbury Beach when the boy became caught in the rip current, a powerful channel of fast-moving water, Essex DA Paul Tucker told WBZ-TV.
A witness told the local CBS affiliate that Simard rushed into the water after the child yelled for help.
Two bystanders who also rushed into the water rescued Simard’s son, but the dad was pulled about 100 yards from the beach, a witness told Boston 25 News.
“The kid was going further, and then the dad was running out. Then the dad was also yelling ‘Help!’ I had no choice, I had to run out there,” Kenny Crosby told WBZ.
“Small, teenage kid. His dad looked like he was struggling. The kid grabbed my hand. We started swimming, and I don’t know. It was just like survival mode,” he added.
The other good Samaritan, Jason Evan Iarossi, told NBC10 Boston he heard the boy calling for his dad.
“We swam out to the kid. We were over our heads and it was too much. It was too much,” he told the outlet, adding that the waves were about 4 to 6 feet high in the choppy waters.
“What they witnessed was traumatic yesterday, so we just want them to know, we have to remember their dad as the person that he was and not the incident that happened yesterday,” Iarossi added.
First responders eventually recovered Simard, performed CPR and rushed him to a local hospital, but he was later pronounced dead.
“He died a hero saving his son from the riptide,” Simard’s sister, Kelly Simard, told NBC10 Boston.
“He went in to save him and he sacrificed his life for his son.
“We feel terrible that we lost him, but it makes us feel better that we know he died for his son,” she added.
Kelly also mourned her brother in a GoFundMe page for the family.
“Gary lived his whole life for his family, his partner Alexis and their four children Gary (13), Matthew (11), Olivia (8) and AJ (6). Gary’s children all survived but sadly Gary did not,” she wrote.
“Gary truly was a hero who not only dedicated his life to his children but literally gave his life for them.”