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Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Life ring station at Boca Raton park aims to prevent drowning in name of teen who died
BOCA RATON — Aden Perry was 17 years old when he heroically died trying to save a man from drowning. His mother, with him at the time, is doing what she can to prevent anything similar from happening again. "I have a voice," Sarah Perry said. "I speak for every other mom, every other child that has lost their life in the water, every other adult, anybody. This has to stop." About two years ago, Perry started an initiative to install life rings in waterways to prevent drownings, a move inspired by her son. Through her, the Aden Perry Foundation has since donated close to 500 life rings across South Florida. The latest was installed at Boca Raton's South Inlet park May 1. "I didn't invent the life ring," Perry said. "I just realized that they're not there. They just need to be available to be used, to be efficient." Delray Beach: City's annual Pride Festival will go on, but officials worried about finances The installation of the life ring buoy station at South Inlet Park comes through a partnership between the Aden Perry Foundation and the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department. At the May 1 unveiling, Ocean Rescue personnel performed a mock rescue in the inlet. It included a jet-ski deployment with a victim and a rescue swimmer on standby, while another guard demonstrated the proper use of the ring buoy station by throwing the life ring to assist the victim. The life ring, which sits in a bright red casing, can be easily accessed by people of any age. 'We're all in this together': Live Spanish translation the star of this 'High School Musical' production "My message is that anybody, from the youngest child to grandma or grandpa, can use one of my life rings to save a life," Perry said. "There's no training necessary. We install them at a height where they are easily accessible to a child or an adult, even somebody in a wheelchair." In case of an emergency, instructions at the buoy stations encourage people to dial 911. Otherwise, they are straightforward. "Use at your own risk," the stations read. "Throw … don't go!" And they state that the rescue rings are for emergency use only. "It's important that somebody can grab them and go," Perry said, emphasizing the instructions for people to throw the life rings, rather than jump into the water themselves. "Every second counts in a water emergency." SunFest: Will annual celebration return to West Palm Beach? First, 'something's got to change,' director says South Inlet Park's buoy station isn't the only one residents in Palm Beach County will see this summer. Three more of the stations were recently installed at Ocean Inlet Park in Boynton Beach, Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach and Jupiter Beach Park. The initiative supports National Water Safety Month, observed annually in May to raise awareness about water safety and drowning prevention. Drowning is the primary cause of injury-related deaths in kids between the ages of 1 and 4, said Dr. Shannon Fox-Levine, a pediatrician with Palm Beach Pediatrics. "This is the age group that, if there's water, they'll find it," Fox-Levine said. Prevention strategies depend on age. "We say baby-proofing a house, but it really means adult supervision at all times in some form," Fox-Levine said. While supervision is key, Fox-Levine suggests that parents enroll children older than age 1 in swim lessons. For people with swimming pools, she recommends a four-sided fence surrounding the pool with an automatic locking gate that should always be closed. And, if you have a boat, a life preserver is critical, she said. Fox-Levine also encourages all parents to learn CPR. "You could really just Google 'CPR classes,'" she said. "There's all different types." 'City knew this was wrong': New 8-story Boynton affordable housing complex rankles neighbors Perry, who lives in Broward County, was walking her dog with her son the night he died. He had jumped into a lake where a driver had just landed, in his car, after losing control on the road. After hitting his head on a rock, Aden died instantly, Perry said. The driver, an 18-year-old man, drowned soon afterward. "He was an amazing young man," Perry said. "He had a heart to give back and make a difference. He wanted to be a neurosurgeon." Perry described Aden as the type of kid who always wanted to help others. If he went to school with money on him, he'd end up giving it away. He'd come home without his shoes, Perry said, after giving those away, too. In August 2023, Aden Perry was awarded the Carnegie Medal. It's a prestigious honor given by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for civilian acts of heroism in the United States and Canada. Perry hopes to see her life ring initiative expand far beyond South Florida. "I would like to take this anywhere and everywhere that I possibly can," Perry said. Sign up for our Post on Boca Raton weekly newsletter, delivered every Thursday! Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@ and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton: New life ring station aims to prevent drowning
CBS News
20-04-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Fort Lauderdale lifeguards warn swimmers about dangerous currents after drowning, 10 rescues over Easter Weekend
Fort Lauderdale lifeguards are warning swimmers about dangerous currents over the Easter holiday weekend. Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue said those currents are why they rescued 10 people over the last two days, and why a teen tragically drowned. Ocean Rescue told CBS News Miami that all the rescues and the drowning happened in areas with lifeguards by the main strip of the beach between Lifeguard Towers 5 and 6, right near Las Olas Boulevard and State Road A1A. CBS News Miami went out to the beach on Sunday and found out how bad the conditions are, whether you look at the water, ask a lifeguard or look at the warning flags. Sunday's flags meant the conditions are "hazardous" and there could be dangerous marine wildlife. On Friday evening, Ocean Rescue said they found a teenager dead in what they believed was an accidental drowning. Officials said the teen was swimming with friends in rough waters when they ran into trouble. Lifeguards rescued the friends, but the teen wasn't immediately found. Fort Lauderdale Police said its dive team recovered the teen's body just after 8 p.m., nearly three and a half hours after authorities were first called to the area near the 800 Seabreeze Blvd. The drowning is under investigation. In total, lifeguards have had to save 10 people from the beach's rough waves all weekend. They're urging people to be cautious if they go in. The United States Life Saving Association said the color of the flags seen at the lifeguard stands can change throughout the day. So, it's good to always be looking at them. "People need to be prepared for that," said Tom Gill with the U.S. Life Saving Association. "Just because they may have been out in the water earlier in the day. And it was really nice and calm, and you go back and look at it. It's bigger than I thought -- the wind has picked up. There's all types of changes that can happen throughout the day." Ocean rescue is expecting the rough conditions to carry over to Monday. Coming up at 11 p.m., CBS News Miami will hear from some swimmers about how the water was and how they may want to adjust to these rough conditions.
