Yesterday at about 4:15 PM the Sheriff’s Helicopter "Henry-One" was sent to Pinnacle Gulch Beach, just south of Bodega Bay on a report of an injured swimmer. The helicopter crew set down on the beach and they found an injured 17-year-old Santa Rosa boy.
The boy had been wading in the ocean, along with three of his friends. He dove over an incoming wave head first but the water level lowered on the other side of the wave and became much shallower than what he had thought. The boy hit his head on the bottom of the ocean an injured his neck and spinal cord. He was pulled to safety by his friends and bystanders but the boy lost feeling in the lower part of his body and wasn’t able to move.
The helicopter crew used caution and treated him for a spinal cord injury. They loaded him into the helicopter and flew him to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fracture in his spinal cord.
The helicopter crew and all of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office wish their best to the boy and his family.
Prepared by: Sgt. Spencer Crum
CR 170924019
Media Inquiries: 707-565-3941
