kepdawg
06-13-2005, 09:24 PM
Two coaches die in boating accident
June 13, 2005 - 8:58 p.m.
The Associated Press
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Two South Texas high school coaches died Monday in a boating accident in the Laguna Madre.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Bryan Borges identified the victims as Rolando Gutierrez, 33, of Edcouch, and Joey Torres, 30, of Weslaco. Jeff Torres, 33, of Pharr, was rescued.
Gutierrez coached the girls' basketball team at Edcouch-Elsa, where Torres was an assistant girls' basketball coach as well as junior high track coach.
Borges said Jeff Torres radioed the Coast Guard about 11:15 a.m. to report the boating accident. The Coast Guard found him in the boat about eight miles north of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, which links the mainland to South Padre Island.
Borges said Jeff Torres told them all three had been tossed from the boat when a big wave hit while they were trying to fix a steering problem. He didn't know where the other two were.
Coast Guard crews on the water and in the air found the men. The first was found floating on his back about a mile away. Rescuers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the man was pronounced dead at the hospital in Brownsville.
The second man, spotted in the water by a helicopter crew, was pronounced dead by a justice of the peace when the searchers reached land.
June 13, 2005 - 8:58 p.m.
The Associated Press
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Two South Texas high school coaches died Monday in a boating accident in the Laguna Madre.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Bryan Borges identified the victims as Rolando Gutierrez, 33, of Edcouch, and Joey Torres, 30, of Weslaco. Jeff Torres, 33, of Pharr, was rescued.
Gutierrez coached the girls' basketball team at Edcouch-Elsa, where Torres was an assistant girls' basketball coach as well as junior high track coach.
Borges said Jeff Torres radioed the Coast Guard about 11:15 a.m. to report the boating accident. The Coast Guard found him in the boat about eight miles north of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, which links the mainland to South Padre Island.
Borges said Jeff Torres told them all three had been tossed from the boat when a big wave hit while they were trying to fix a steering problem. He didn't know where the other two were.
Coast Guard crews on the water and in the air found the men. The first was found floating on his back about a mile away. Rescuers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the man was pronounced dead at the hospital in Brownsville.
The second man, spotted in the water by a helicopter crew, was pronounced dead by a justice of the peace when the searchers reached land.