The 14-year-old boy who drowned at Far Rockaway yesterday did not know how to swim, according to his friends and family. But Akeem Craig didn't intend to go swimming—he was just wading in the water with friends celebrating the last day of school. The Daily News reports that Craig "fell at a dropoff and went under" in an area that is not monitored by lifeguards. The teen was carried out to sea by a wave, despite his friend's desperate attempts to save his life.
"I went out to get him and he was pulling me under the water,” 15-year-old Akeem Brown, tells the Post. “He was holding my neck and he said, ‘Don’t let me go, don’t let me go.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to let you go.’ He was crying, then he started vomiting. He let go and I came up to get air.” Moments later, Craig was nowhere to be found.
It took rescuers almost 45 minutes to locate Craig's body (and the Post has a haunting photo of Akeem Brown swimming in the ocean, searching in vain). What makes this even more distressing is that the boys were warned not to go in the water by a fisherman, who told them the surf was unsafe due to heavy wind and rain. “They were having a good time,” Reginald Whitley, 53, tells the Post. "Then the cops came and the ambulance came and the helicopters came. They failed to listen to the advice."
The Times reports that the National Weather Service had warned of a moderate risk of rip currents, which are particularly treacherous at Far Rockaway. Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner, said in a statement, "This incident is a reminder of the absolute necessity that New Yorkers should never enter the water where there is no lifeguard present. Going into ocean waters or any water body not supervised by a lifeguard can have tragic consequences."
The boy's mother, Raquel WIlliams, is shattered. "He had so much potential, he could have done anything he wanted,” she tells the Post. "I don’t want to accept this. I can’t describe the feeling. My heart is broken."
