Diving Accidents Los Angeles County

When an uncertified commercial deep-sea diver drowned off Catalina Island a year ago while collecting brilliantly colored fish for aquariums, it triggered an investigation that produced surprising results. The diver--Kenneth W. Howard, 34, of San Pedro--was making as much as $654 a day capturing baby sharks, infant red-gold Garibaldis and other marine life when his air supply and luck ran out 73 feet down on Isthmus Reef, investigators said. Some called the diver's death an accident.

A 27-year-old scuba diver who vanished Saturday morning after becoming ill while in the ocean off Long Beach was presumed dead, but a search for his body continued throughout the day, authorities said. The diver's name was not released by authorities. The man was with two other divers 12 1/2 miles from Huntington Harbour when he got into trouble about 9:30 a.m., said Rick Pillsbury, a spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department.

A Riverside County man died and his scuba-diving partner was missing Sunday after an accident off Long Beach, authorities said. Michael Linder, 24, of Corona died in a decompression chamber on Santa Catalina Island after he surfaced unconscious Sunday morning, said U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Kristine Johnson. His diving partner, whose name was not released, could not be found as rescue vessels combed the waters six miles southeast of Long Beach Harbor until dusk, she said.

The county coroner's office is looking into the death of a North Hills man who died Sunday while diving off Catalina Island with his 17-year-old son. Mark Steven Hopkins, 44, had become entangled in seaweed off Lion's Head Point at about 6 p.m. when he signaled his son that he was having trouble breathing. After two attempts to cut his father free, the son returned to the surface to call for help, according to sheriff's reports.

By all accounts, Darren Douglass was among the most accomplished scuba divers on the West Coast: underwater photographer, editor of a dive boat magazine, leader of charter excursions to the deep. It was Douglass who was in charge, officials said, when a cadre of wet-suited explorers splashed overboard from the dive boat Atlantis on Sunday. It was Douglass who led the way through the murky depths as they plumbed the wreck of a sunken ship.

A Northridge man was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after breaking his neck in a diving accident in Angeles National Forest. Jack Hermosillo, 22, and his friends were diving 30 feet off rocks into a shallow pond when Hermosillo was injured, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Anderson. The pond, a popular swimming hole about 50 feet wide and 6 to 8 feet deep, is shallower than normal now due to scanty rainfall.

Officials have not determined what caused the death of a 22-year-old woman who was diving with five other students and two instructors from a Ventura diving school, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said Saturday. Rochanak Saberzadeh of Chatsworth was discovered unconscious on the ocean floor near Santa Catalina Island with oxygen in her scuba tank, the spokesman said.

A scuba diving excursion to a shipwreck off San Pedro ended in tragedy Sunday when a man and his 14-year-old son died and three other divers required decompression treatment after a rescue at sea, authorities said. County lifeguard and Coast Guard rescue teams were called to the Atlantis, a commercial diving boat anchored six miles off Cabrillo Beach, after the skipper reported at 2 p.m.

A 41-year-old Granada Hills woman who completed scuba training last week drowned during a night dive off the coast north of Malibu, authorities said Thursday. Bobbi Jean Greenhead, who owns a Studio City video and audio post production company, became separated from her partner after entering the water Wednesday near Neptune's Net restaurant a mile south of Sycamore Cove, Ventura County Sheriff's deputies said.

The oxygen tanks of a man and his son who both died while diving off the coast of San Pedro on Sunday were empty when rescuers found the two more than 140 feet beneath the surface, officials said Wednesday. Darren Douglass, 34, and his 14-year-old son, Jeremiah, drowned in the accident, said county coroner spokesman Scott Carrier. "They just ran out of air," said Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lt. Mickey Gallagher.

Finally, strong ocean currents proved too much for the teen-age boy and adult diver who tried to cling together as they shared one source of air deep below the ocean's surface. The boy drifted inexorably down, the diver floated upward, both unable to make contact, both suddenly without air. The adult diver survived but the boy perished, along with his father, a master diver from Glendora, in the tragic July 2 accident off San Pedro.

One of the survivors of Sunday's fatal deep-water diving accident off San Pedro said a 14-year-old boy who drowned was having "buoyancy problems" that were keeping him from rising to the surface quickly enough. Jeff Highley said he shared his air supply with the boy, Jeremiah Douglass, who was running out of air in addition to struggling toward the surface after a 140-foot dive. But then Highley himself ran out of air, he said, and passed out.

The oxygen tanks of a man and his son who both died while diving off the coast of San Pedro on Sunday were empty when rescuers found the two more than 140 feet beneath the surface, officials said Wednesday. Darren Douglass, 34, and his 14-year-old son, Jeremiah, drowned in the accident, said county coroner spokesman Scott Carrier. "They just ran out of air," said Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lt. Mickey Gallagher.

By all accounts, Darren Douglass was among the most accomplished scuba divers on the West Coast: underwater photographer, editor of a dive boat magazine, leader of charter excursions to the deep. It was Douglass who was in charge, officials said, when a cadre of wet-suited explorers splashed overboard from the dive boat Atlantis on Sunday. It was Douglass who led the way through the murky depths as they plumbed the wreck of a sunken ship.

A scuba diving excursion to a shipwreck off San Pedro ended in tragedy Sunday when a man and his 14-year-old son died and three other divers required decompression treatment after a rescue at sea, authorities said. County lifeguard and Coast Guard rescue teams were called to the Atlantis, a commercial diving boat anchored six miles off Cabrillo Beach, after the skipper reported at 2 p.m.

A 47-year-old Glendale man died Sunday morning following a scuba diving accident off San Miguel Island, authorities said. Kim Young was declared dead about 10 a.m. at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, two hours after the accident, Ventura County Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese said. Young died of internal injuries caused by surfacing too quickly from a depth of 70 to 80 feet, Breese said. Young was taken by helicopter from the Ventura Harbor-based boat Spectre about 9 a.m.

One of the survivors of Sunday's fatal deep-water diving accident off San Pedro said a 14-year-old boy who drowned was having "buoyancy problems" that were keeping him from rising to the surface quickly enough. Jeff Highley said he shared his air supply with the boy, Jeremiah Douglass, who was running out of air in addition to struggling toward the surface after a 140-foot dive. But then Highley himself ran out of air, he said, and passed out.

Finally, strong ocean currents proved too much for the teen-age boy and adult diver who tried to cling together as they shared one source of air deep below the ocean's surface. The boy drifted inexorably down, the diver floated upward, both unable to make contact, both suddenly without air. The adult diver survived but the boy perished, along with his father, a master diver from Glendora, in the tragic July 2 accident off San Pedro.

A 41-year-old Granada Hills woman who completed scuba training last week drowned during a night dive off the coast north of Malibu, authorities said Thursday. Bobbi Jean Greenhead, who owns a Studio City video and audio post production company, became separated from her partner after entering the water Wednesday near Neptune's Net restaurant a mile south of Sycamore Cove, Ventura County Sheriff's deputies said.

A Northridge man was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after breaking his neck in a diving accident in Angeles National Forest. Jack Hermosillo, 22, and his friends were diving 30 feet off rocks into a shallow pond when Hermosillo was injured, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Anderson. The pond, a popular swimming hole about 50 feet wide and 6 to 8 feet deep, is shallower than normal now due to scanty rainfall.