Ryan managed to swim out of the blowhole, where he was being tossed against the rocks, but once he reached the other side he grew tired and could barely swim.
He said he is a good swimmer and was able to swim out of the blowhole and past the waves, but then grew really tired and scared.
“I thought I was going to drown,” Ryan said. Then a man who was walking along the beach with his girlfriend took off his shoes and shirt and went into the ocean to help Ryan.”
The man carried him to safety and then “disappeared,” Ryan said.
Sondra Siani, a former lifeguard, was fetching the mail from her mother’s driveway near the cove at 5:15 p.m. when she heard screams from the beach below.
Siani saw two young girls trapped on the rocks, yelling for help, and another young boy fighting to stay afloat in the choppy tide of the beach cove.
Siani called 911, and threw a ring buoy to the cousins to hang onto until help arrived. Siani is familiar with the dangers at Diver’s Cove.
“It’s a turbulent area with frequent drownings,” Siani said. “In the past, people have died while trying to save other people in the water.”
She was also concerned about the girls’ safety, because the tide was rushing in and water was splashing over the rocks.
“I was scared they were going to make a run for it, and I knew they would get swept in [the ocean] if they did,” she said.
More than 15 minutes passed before a city lifeguard and police officer arrived, Siani said.
The city lifeguard on call bandaged Galliano, who was cut on the rocks, while Siani called the boy’s uncle, David Bell, to notify the guardians of the incident.
“The time it took for [help] to arrive was unacceptable,” Siani claimed. “Three kids would have drowned if it weren’t for two Good Samaritans.”
