Man Drowns In Ocean City After Dozens Try To Save Him, And Pray

OCEAN CITY, NJ — An off-duty EMT was getting ready to head off the 10th Street Beach in Ocean City when he noticed two people in distress.

Brian Wheelock, of Parsippany, raced over to help 46-year-old Heriberto Roman, who was drowning. He and Eric Gerber — a pastor from Pennsylvania whom Wheelock referred to as a “godsend” — were able to help Roman’s son pull him from the water.

Over the next few days, dozens of people, including friends and family from Puerto Rico as well as those who attempted to save his life, stayed by Roman’s side and prayed for his life.

Unfortunately, Roman, of Ivyland, Pa., passed away at the hospital two days after the initial rescue attempts.

“It’s an absolute, absolute tragedy,” Wheelock said. “Just a reminder, the ocean is strong this time of year. … Please make sure you’re swimming in an area where there are lifeguards. Life is precious, and it only takes a couple of seconds.”

The incident happened during a week in which the National Weather Service had warned of dangerously powerful rip currents as a result of Hurricane Chris off the coast of North Carolina.

It also happened the same day a woman was mysteriously rescued by a Good Samaritan at the 25th Street Beach. Roman is the 20th person to die in a water-related death in New Jersey this year.

Roman was with his daughter on the 10th Street Beach at about 6:30 p.m. on July 10 when they were pushed under by two big waves, according to a police report on the incident. No lifeguards were present because they were swimming after hours.

The report also notes that Roman didn’t know how to swim. His daughter was able to get out of the water and began yelling for help.

This is when Wheelock and Gerber went in to help. When they pulled Roman out of the water, he was unconscious. They began performing CPR.

Members of the Ocean City Beach Patrol and Ocean City Fire Department arrived and continued to perform CPR. An AED was applied to his chest, but wasn’t used because he had a pulse at the time, according to the police report.

“It was a miracle that there were so many people there to help that day,” Wheelock said in a video he posted on Facebook. “Within a matter of seconds, we had a doctor who started helping us with CPR, an off-duty fireman who started helping us with CPR, and then very quickly, this whole area was filled with first responders, police, lifeguards who came from every direction, and we continued CPR for a good 20 minutes until paramedics arrived.”

He was initially taken to Shore Medical Center. Before he left the beach, he had a pulse and he was breathing, Wheelock noted in the video. He was eventually transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

Over the next few days there were signs he might be able to pull through, Wheelock said. He was able to open his eyes and move his arms and legs on command. However, he was unable to overcome the amount of water he had in his lungs, and his kidneys failed.

He remained on life support in critical condition for the next two days before being pronounced deceased at the hospital on July 12, according to the police report. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be complications from near drowning.

His family — some of which came from Puerto Rico — were able to make to his bedside and pray over him for the final moments of his life.

Family and friends are invited to leave their condolences for Roman on the Foley Funeral Home’s website. No services have been scheduled at this time.

Patch file photo