14 y/o baller drowns in Tampa Bay

[Lee]

i didn't know the young man. just heard about this on the six o'clock news and thought i'd share. my condolences to the family.

i like what she says at the end of this article. the boy must have been a proud player.


Tuesday, July 6

Teenager Tangled In Boat Line Drowns
By DAVID SOMMER dsommer@tampatrib.com
Published: Jul 6, 2004


CLEARWATER - A father pulled his drowning son to the water's surface, the boy entangled in a rope attached to an anchor. Fighting to save the boy, the father cut the line, but he lost him as the current carried the boat away, and his son sank with the anchor.
Christopher Hidalgo, 14, died Monday on the way to Largo Medical Center after his father and others spent 20 minutes searching for his body in water off Sand Key Park.

The teenager, who attended Benito Middle School, in Seffner, was spending the Fourth of July weekend with his father, Wayne Hidalgo, who lives in Belleair Beach. The two were fishing midmorning Monday when the anchor of their small center- console fishing boat became snagged on the bottom, police and relatives said.

The water was about 10 feet deep, and the younger Hidalgo hopped overboard to attempt to free the anchor, Assistant Clearwater Fire Chief Joel Gray said. Wayne Hidalgo steered the boat over the anchor to create slack on the line, Gray said.

The boy became tangled in the line. When his father realized the boy was not coming up, Gray said, he tried to help him from above.

``He had actually pulled him and the anchor up to the water level,'' Gray said.

The boy's mother, Tammy Hidalgo, said her ex-husband told her he was able to pull their son to the surface but was unable to pull him into the boat.

``Wayne brought him up and cut the line, but it was the line from the boat,'' Tammy Hidalgo said. She said her ex- husband thought he was cutting the anchor free from his son but ended up cutting the anchor and her son free from the boat.

Wayne Hidalgo told her he then went overboard with their son still attached to the anchor as the boat drifted away, the mother said.

Gray told The Associated Press that the father made several efforts to grab the boy.

Lifeguards immediately began searching for the boy while fire department divers raced to the scene with the help of the Coast Guard and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office marine unit, the chief said.

It took about 20 minutes for a diver to find the boy and pull him to the surface, Gray said. Paramedics attempted to revive Hidalgo on the beach before rushing him to Largo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, witnesses and police said.

``They were in the water about 20 minutes looking for him,'' witness Steve Shuba told WFLA, News Channel 8. ``It was a long 20 minutes.''

Chris Kaiser, who was fishing with Shuba, said about a dozen paramedics and lifeguards tried to revive the boy once rescuers brought him to shore.

Wayne Hidalgo declined to comment after his son was pronounced dead.

Tammy Hidalgo said she and her son's stepfather, Al Lasswell, were in the process of moving to Brooksville from their New Tampa apartment this weekend and that her son was staying with his father for the July Fourth holiday.

Both sides of the family were supposed to go shopping for the teenager's first car after Monday's fishing expedition, she said.

Christopher Hidalgo planned to fix up the car while waiting to turn 15 in December.

``He was a wheeler and a dealer, my son, and he was going to go places,'' she said.

The boy's passion was paint-ball, and he worked all sorts of odd jobs to pay for his hobby, Tammy Hidalgo said.

``I'm going to bury him in his outfit with his gun,'' she said.

[Xtraboy]

that last sentence really hit me, that boy loved paintball and he showed it, sad that he had to go.

[coolcatpete]

That really sucks.
Pete

[-=Squid=-]

``I'm going to bury him in his outfit with his gun,'' she said


Thats amazing.

[penguinpunk555]

:( Sad to see the lose of these lives. I hate it. I hate this world all the crap that goes on makes me sick.

[Blazestorm]

The fact that the mother understood how much he played paintball... and is going to do that... is truly amazing.

My parents know I play paintball on the weekend and play tournaments with friends. But I don't think they realize how much I love it.

RIP. Chris... :(

[hAppy]

thats terrible
i hope the best for his soul and his family

[brtncstm160]

Thats really terrible what happened to that little boy and his family and its unfortunate to have a paintballer go. I remember a few years ago in an apg article another child paintballer died and on the headstone the parents had engraved a little poem.

And now i lay me down to rest,
With my paintball gun upon my chest,
And if i die before i wake,
My paintball gun is all I'll take.

I believe thats how the poem went. I hope his family will be strong and make it through this. They are in my prayers.

JJ

[Chronobreak]

DONT bury the gun with him i want it :p j/j sry i felt like i had to lighten up the subject...sad :(

[Lee]

i emailed a link to this thread to the reporter who wrote the story in the hope that he could send it to the boys mother so she knows other ballers are thinking of her and her son.

[SlipknotX556]

The kid must have been a true baller, if his mother thought to bury him in his gear and along with his gun. Thats just amazing.

[AGDlover]

damn that sucks *plays taps*

[Skoad]

I bet the father feels terrible.

[FallNAngel]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

[pointm@n]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

Dude, the water buoyancy is going to allow the father to pull the anchor and the boy up to the surface. Once the anchor and boy get above water, the true weight of both objects were probably too much for him. Plus imagine trying to pull something up when you're on a boat that is rocking back and forth, your hands are probably wet and your panicking.

Also it looks like there was a strong current because when the guy cut the anchor loose, the boat drifted away. If there was a strong current, it could have dragged the body further away from where he fell into the water.

That's sad to hear. Thoughts go out to the family... :(

[Carbon]

The fact that the mother understood how much he played paintball... and is going to do that... is truly amazing.

My parents know I play paintball on the weekend and play tournaments with friends. But I don't think they realize how much I love it.

RIP freallz. This reminds me of my buddy Kevin who died of a heart attack. He surfed, and his parents buried with him the Silver Surfer action figure surfboard and some seashells.

[FallNAngel]

Dude, the water buoyancy is going to allow the father to pull the anchor and the boy up to the surface. Once the anchor and boy get above water, the true weight of both objects were probably too much for him. Plus imagine trying to pull something up when you're on a boat that is rocking back and forth, your hands are probably wet and your panicking.

Also it looks like there was a strong current because when the guy cut the anchor loose, the boat drifted away. If there was a strong current, it could have dragged the body further away from where he fell into the water.

That's sad to hear. Thoughts go out to the family... :(

I understand how that works. If you go back and read my post, I said I understood that he'd be able to pull them up to the boat, but not in. My question was why he didn't go in after the son. The water is 10' deep. Unless they're fishing in the raging rapids, I don't think the water would carry the body and the anchor that far.

[FunkyWhiteBoy#3]

poor kid, my best wishes to the family. when i die i want to be buried with my gear and gun. i say we should get a game dedicated to him or do something in his honor.

[jtm560]

that last line almost killed me!! thats so sad. i agree the world sucks. that boy had heart and spirt. I would like to pay my respecs to him and his mother. when i die i hope my parents barry me in my jersey and with my emag on my heart. i am very sad to hear one of my fellow ballers to pass on :( :( :( :(

[coolcatpete]

oh no<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_9_9.gif' border=0></a>

[jtm560]

poor kid, my best wishes to the family. when i die i want to be buried with my gear and gun. i say we should get a game dedicated to him or do something in his honor.

we could have a list of ppls signatures and a small phrase
pass it around and then email the link to his family to show that we r all in morning..

[Muzikman]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

Maybe the father couldn't swim?

[Skoad]

you must not have read the article. It says he jumped in and tried pulling him up


Wayne Hidalgo told her he then went overboard with their son still attached to the anchor as the boat drifted away, the mother said.

Gray told The Associated Press that the father made several efforts to grab the boy.

[Fatjon]

Man this is sad news but that last line really hits hard.

I have best of wishes for his family.

[WenULiVeUdiE]

Best wishes to the Hidalgo Family. It's sad to see someone this young pass.

[fcpchop]

man thats just horrible, the whole article was just so hard to get through without misting up, but after that last line it really got to me. i really feel so bad for the family, my thoughts are with them, i hope they realize how many people are praying for them, i no i am.

[FallNAngel]

Maybe the father couldn't swim?

Honestly, for some reason that just didn't occur to me... go figure


you must not have read the article. It says he jumped in and tried pulling him up

Actually I did, more than once actually... I remember reading that line, but for some reason, I just didn't "get" that line or something. I guess the kid must've gotten really tied up or something

[punkncat]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

Like yourself I am not trying to start anything , but I also felt like there was something fishy about the whole thing.
I guess it seems easy in your mind to say 10' of water isn't enough to cause something like this. I wouldv'e been able to ______ , or they could have _____.
But w/o being there , I suppose its just easier to deny this could have happened , than to admit that such a simple helpless mishap could take someone's life.

[Commissar_Loki]

:: lowers hat:: I believe a moment of silence to a true paintballer is in order.








My deepest sympathies to the family and friends. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.


-Butch

[minimag03]

That is really sad. Bless his family and friends.

minimag03

[Duck Hunt]

I hope they fill his tank and hopper ;-)

Its sad to hear about this happening but the qoute from his mom is what made me choke up, it was very sweet I hope my family would do something like that for me ;-)

Sean

[AnthonyW]

Its sad to here these things really happen, who would think about dying while trying to free up a stuck anchor in 10ft of water. Its hard to believe this world is so cruel.

[Linkwarner]

That was really sad, It just hit home... When you think about it, 10ft of water is actually a lot of water, and if you ever tried to find someone in that much water, it is very hard to do. To be buried with your gear, huh, wow that takes dedication. 14, so young, just about to go car shopping. Cant even imagine what the parents are going through though.

[Lurker27]

What a shame.

With commitment like that, you know he's in a better place now. The apints always free, and the tanks are always filled. The grass is always green and your gun is always working like it should. And no balls break, except on target.

RIP
:(