'He Was Going To Die:' Tragic Details Of Hazlet Drowning Deaths

HAZLET, NJ — He realized he was going to die.

All Sean Stead was trying to do was save his friends. But he had to turn back to the shore after being pulled down by the drowning men into the murky, fast-moving creek, and nearly dying himself.

This is how events unfolded before two Bayshore men drowned Sunday afternoon, a tragedy that began when friends tried to save another who was struggling while swimming in Thornes Creek in Hazlet.

"The entire town of Hazlet is just stunned today," said Detective Michael Tristao of the Hazlet police department. "You're talking about two guys who died trying to save their friend."

All four men involved were local to the area, hailing from Hazlet, Keansburg and Middletown. The two men who died have been identified by Hazlet police as Mark Gorski, 56, of Laurel Avenue in Hazlet Twp. and Zaidius Perry, 36, of Washington Avenue in Keansburg.

The day started innocently enough: It was a warm September afternoon and the men had been hanging out by Thornes Creek near the Henry Hudson bike trail, possibly fishing, police said. The men were often seen in that area and could best be described as fishing buddies, Hazlet police said.

At around 2 p.m., one of the men, Ronald Williams, 61, decided to enter the creek for a swim. Thornes Creek connects Natco Lake to Raritan Bay and is used by some boaters in the area.

Because of that, the creek is sometimes dredged and, as a consequence, it drops off swiftly from about three feet to eleven feet, said Det. Tristao. And it's impossible to tell from the shore, but the 20-yard-wide creek also has a very swift, strong current in the middle, Tristao said, and can easily carry a swimmer right out to Raritan Bay.

"He swam into the creek and made it about 150 yards downstream. When he tried to turn back, he had a hard time fighting the current and his friends back on shore saw he was in distress," Det. Tristao said. "However, Ron was able to grab onto a piling and just stayed there."

Nonetheless, Perry jumped in first to help him, and made it about 15 yards out when his head started going underwater, the police officer said. Gorski then jumped in to help Perry, and when he reached him, Perry, frantic and in a panic, pulled him under the water.

That was when the fourth and remaining man on the shore, Stead, 49, of Middletown, jumped in, too. He made it out to where Perry and Gorski were and was able to grab Gorski by the belt underwater. But Perry, desperate and drowning, grabbed Stead by the neck and started pulling him underwater, too, Tristao said.

"He realized he was going to die. Sean pushed Perry off him and was able to swim back," the officer said. "He said he turned around to see both of them go underwater and that's when he lost sight of them for good.

"He called 911 from shore. (Stead) was absolutely distraught when police got there. He kept repeating that Mark (Gorski) was a hero."

Patrolman William Marvel and Patrolman Patrick Kiley arrived within minutes of the call, and Marvel entered the creek. But by that time Williams had made it off the piling and was able to swim over to a makeshift dock near North Park Avenue. Marvel pulled him to shore, and he was taken to a local hospital.

Divers from the Monmouth County Sheriff's dept. Maritime Emergency Response Team (MERT) were called in, and they combed the creek for the two men. Their bodies were found just past 6 p.m. in the same area where they had gone under the water, Tristao said.

"One of the divers searching for the bodies said he could feel the pull of the current underwater," said Tristao. "There is a strong current there, no doubt about that."

Alcohol was found nearby, but it is not known if the men had been drinking, police said.

Original Patch news report: 2 Swimmers Die While Trying To Save Somebody In Hazlet: Cops

Photo: A view of Thornes Creek from a marina on North Park Avenue via Google Earth.