Man Drowns In Gravesend Bay Trying To Retrieve Ball

The New York Post reported over the weekend on the drowning death of a man in Gravesend Bay early Friday evening. Arnoldo Galarza, age 20, reportedly had entered the choppy waters off a secluded beach near Seagate to go after a ball lost in the water by a group of children.

According to the article, Galarza, who could not swim, was about to begin service in the Navy.

From the Post:

“I didn’t realize he was drowning at first,” said a brother-in-law who declined to give his name.

“When he went down, I knew he was in trouble.”

The relative said Galarza, a Bedford-Stuyvesant resident, not only didn’t swim, but there was no lifeguard at the unprotected beach.

As the young man foundered, horrified relatives watched helplessly from the shore.

FDNY arrived on the scene after a relative called 911, but by the time they managed to pull Galarza from the water, he was already too far gone to be saved.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Coney Island hospital.

Family members said the group had decided on the unguarded strip of beach because they wished to avoid the crowds at Coney Island.