Florida dad dies after helping save his daughter from drowning on Father's Day
A Florida dad has lost his life after helping save his daughter from drowning in the ocean on Father's Day.
That was the tragic story coming out of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, when 33-year-old Antwon Wilson died while his daughter and another adult were hospitalized, according to authorities.
Wilson was spending time with his two children on the beach for Father's Day when the minors became distressed in the water by the B Ocean Resort at about 7.30pm, 20 minutes or so after the lifeguards in the vicinity had shifted off duty, authorities told the local news outlet WSVN.
Lifeguards returned upon receiving an emergency call for help from the hotel – and when they arrived, they spotted Wilson keeping one of the girls who was still in the water afloat, Fort Lauderdale fire and rescue battalion chief Danny Moran said.
Another man, identified as bystander Eslam Saad, tried to help Wilson and the girl, Moran said. But 'he became overwhelmed' and had to get out of the water, Moran added.
Moran said lifeguards then managed to pull Wilson's daughter out of the ocean, but the father went underwater. Rescuers eventually found him, brought him back to shore and took him to a local hospital alongside his daughter and Saad.
At the hospital, Wilson was pronounced dead while his daughter and Saad were expected to fully recover physically, officials said.
WSVN spoke with Saad, who recounted instinctively jumping in to help Wilson and his daughter upon hearing people near him scream 'help' repeatedly on Sunday. He said a frightening experience ensued – but he would not change any of his choices if given the chance.
'I would do the same thing no matter the consequences,' Saad reportedly said.
Once Saad was at the hospital and OK, he said he tried to ask for Wilson and his daughter, who was described as being younger than 11.
Doctors gave him the heartbreaking news about Wilson at that point, Saad remarked. 'They told me her dad was already gone,' Saad said to WSVN.
News of Wilson's final moments made national headlines, particularly in corners of the internet dedicated to highlighting selfless acts. His story also spread widely across social media as loved ones paid tribute to him.
A statement attributed to his grandmother solicited prayers for her family to have the strength to grieve her grandson, whom she referred to by the nickname 'Twon'.
'I'll always remember the good times we shared,' the grandmother's statement read in part. 'And for that, my God, I say thank you.'
A colleague's statement said Wilson worked for a provider of tax and financial services.
A separate statement said Wilson had very recently been participating in calls to organize a school reunion. A link to a GoFundMe campaign set up in Wilson's honor for the benefit of his daughters was posted to a social media group for that reunion.
Another statement attributed to a childhood friend of Wilson expressed an inability to 'understand why [he] had to go'.
'You [are] definitely a hero, my guy,' yet another friend's statement said. 'See ya on the other side.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
42 minutes ago
- Reuters
Real coach Alonso backs Ruediger after he suffered alleged racist abuse
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 22 (Reuters) - Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said he believed Antonio Ruediger when the player told him he was a victim of racist abuse during their 3-1 win against Mexican side Pachuca at the Club World Cup on Sunday. Referee Ramon Abatti crossed his forearms in front of his chest, which signals the activation of the anti-racism protocol, five minutes into stoppage time after a brief scuffle erupted following an apparent foul on Germany international Ruediger. Asked if Ruediger had been the victim of racism during the game, Alonso told a press conference: "That's what Ruediger said, and we believe him. "It is important to have zero tolerance in these kinds of situations. FIFA now is investigating. That's all I can say." It was not immediately clear whether the alleged abuse came from the crowd or an opponent. Soccer's governing body FIFA was not immediately in a position to clarify the incident when contacted by Reuters.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
US citizen caught in ICE raid says arrest was worth it if others got away
A U.S. citizen who was violently arrested in a California ICE raid and detained for 24 hours said it was all worth it if an undocumented person was able to use that moment to flee. Job Garcia, a 37-year-old PhD student at Claremont Graduate University, was arrested during an ICE raid last Thursday at a Home Depot in Hollywood, ABC 7 reported. Video captured an ICE agent telling Garcia, who is a U.S. citizen, 'You want to go to jail? Fine, you got it.' Garcia recalled the horrifying moment he was placed into custody by the officer: 'The pressure of like, the knee on my back, and his hand on my neck, I thought like 'Is this it for me?'' Footage of the violent arrest, which came as ICE agents detained about 30 people at the store, quickly went viral. Before he was detained, Garcia and several other shoppers were yelling at the officers as they targeted a man in a truck by smashing his window. 'A split second after that is when he lunged at me. I was still recording, so he pushes me, puts both hands on me, and I pushed his hand off. And then, he didn't like that, so he grabbed my left hand,' Garcia said. Garcia said the officers seemed surprised when he told them he was a U.S. citizen, but they still decided to arrest him. He was first taken to a holding area at Dodger Stadium, where he overheard agents discussing how many people they'd grabbed. "Like, 'How many bodies did you guys get today?' And one of them said 31, and they started like, 'Yay! It was a good day today.' And they were like, high-fiving each other," Garcia said. Garcia said he also overheard officers talking about potential charges they could slap him with. 'At first it was assault of a federal agent, but only later, the narrative started switching because the video was out,' Garcia said. Some 24 hours later, Garcia was finally released. Despite the circumstances, he told ABC 7 it would have been well worth it if it gave undocumented migrants a window of opportunity to flee and find their families. 'However long period that was, if an undocumented person ran away and got away and got to get to his family, and got to get to his pregnant wife, then I'm OK with that,' he said. It was not immediately clear whether Garcia would be charged with any crime, although he told ABC 7 he plans to take legal action for the violation of his civil rights. Anti-ICE demonstrations have spread across the U.S. after taking off in California earlier this month following raids of workplaces. The number of people without a criminal record being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and held in detention has jumped 800 percent since January, as officials face pressure to boost numbers, according to reports. This uptick has resulted in 51,302 people being imprisoned in ICE centers as of the start of June, marking the first time that detention centers held over 50,000 immigrants at once. Less than a third of those detained are convicted criminals, with the remainder pending criminal charges or arrested for non-criminal immigration offenses, such as overstaying a visa or unauthorized entry to the country. The latest data is from June 1, published by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Since January, when the Trump administration entered office, ICE has not published clear and official figures on arrests or deportations.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
A 22-year-old college grad with no security experience is now leading a government terror prevention team: ‘Putting the intern in charge'
A 22-year-old college graduate with no previous government leadership or security experience appointed to a major posting at the Department of Homeland Security is now drawing further scrutiny from President Donald Trump's Democratic critics in the wake of military strikes against Iran and warnings from officials about the heightened risk of terror attacks at home. Thomas Fugate, a former Heritage Foundation intern and self-described 'Trumplican,' joined DHS in a leadership role at the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, known as CP3 in May. The CP3, which works to combat terrorism, school shootings and other hate-driven violence, oversees an $18 million grant program intended to help communities battle violent extremism. The appointment of the recent University of San Antonio grad put counterterrorism experts and insiders on edge, ProPublica first reported in early June. 'It sounds like putting the intern in charge,' a counterterrorism researcher who has experience working with CP3 told the outlet. 'We're entering very dangerous territory,' another longtime counterterrorism official said. Those warnings were echoed by Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, on Sunday after the Department of Homeland Security warned in a bulletin that 'ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States'. On Saturday evening, Donald Trump authorized military strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites the administration and Israeli government claimed were part of a renewed push by Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons. The U.S. has not provided evidence to back up its assertion. While Trump officials warn publicly against retaliation, the strikes are the most significant military action committed by the U.S. against Iran in years. 'As our nation girds for possible Iranian terrorist attacks, this is the person Trump put in charge of terrorism prevention. 22 years old. Recent work experience: landscaping/grocery clerk. Never worked a day in counter-terrorism. But he's a BIG Trump fan. So he got the job,' wrote Murphy on Twitter. Though Fugate's position at CP3 involves levels of responsibility far beyond his previous experiences, he's far from the final authority in the Trump administration overseeing counterrorism efforts. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces are the main investigative body in this matter; CP3 does not engage in law enforcement or data collection duties, per its own website. The agency instead works with local government entities on violence prevention programs. But officials spoke out about Fugate's appointment nonetheless as spring saw a number of high-profile, violent incidents, including the attack in Boulder, Colorado, the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., and a car bombing outside a California fertility center. Fugate took over from Army veteran Bill Braniff, who resigned in March after the Trump administration cut 20 percent of his staff. Another Twitter user wrote of his appointment Saturday evening: 'If Iran activates sleeper cells, I feel safe knowing Trump appointed this 23 year old to run counter terrorism operations at Department of Homeland Security.' Braniff had more than 20 years' experience in national security. 'If I cannot advance the prevention mission from inside of the government for now, I will do what I can outside of government,' he wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing his resignation. 'CP3 is the inheritor of the primary and founding mission of DHS - to prevent terrorism,' he added. Braniff's achievements in the post included funneling nearly $90 million since 2020 toward helping communities tackle extremist violence. Replacing Braniff with Fugate is 'an insult,' a source told ProPublica. Braniff helped with the move 'toward evidence-based approaches to terrorism prevention' in a field still dealing with post-9/11 work that was predisposed to stigmatizing Muslims, the source added. 'They really started to shift the conversation and shift the public thinking. It was starting to get to the root of the problem,' they said. 'Now that's all gone.' Before taking up the new leadership responsibilities, Fugate was hired as a 'special assistant' in an immigration office at the Department of Homeland Security. The department told The Independent that Fugate was 'temporarily given additional leadership responsibilities' in CP3 'due to his success.' Staffers he works with, however, have likened meeting with him to 'career counseling' while expressing shock at how little he appears to know about the role, the outlet reported. According to Fugate's LinkedIn profile, he worked as a gardener briefly in 2020 before embarking on fellowships and internships, including at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He worked on the Trump campaign last year where he attended the Republican National Convention. He also served as secretary general of a Model United Nations club. He shared photos in recent months at the White House. In one post, he gushed about taking 'the first major leap' of his career. The criticism of the 22-year-old follows similar outrage over Elon Musk's hiring of teenagers in the Department of Government Efficiency. Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old Northeastern University drop-out, was part of a group of young DOGE engineers who were given access to critical computer systems as part of the Trump administration 's efforts to gut the federal government. President Donald Trump stood by the group after widespread criticism earlier this year. 'I'm very proud of the job that this group of young people, generally young people, but very smart people, they're doing,' Trump said.
