Delaware Water Gap mishap kills scuba diving student

This article hits close to home. I grew up in Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie was my playground.

Area after he was caught in a swift Delaware River current and lost consciousness Saturday afternoon as he practiced diving with his wife, authorities said.

John J. Osterhoudt, 27, of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., was taking scuba lessons with two instructors and his wife, Arlene, near the Dingmans Ferry Bridge when the current separated him from the group as he ascended from a depth of 14 feet, the National Park Service said Monday.

Osterhoudt tried to swim to shore, but as one of the instructors swam toward him he went limp and face down in the water, the Park Service said. The instructor grabbed Osterhoudt and tried to get him breathing again as they headed for the river bank.
On the shore, the two instructors used CPR on Osterhoudt and a park ranger applied a defibrillator. He was taken by ambulance to Bon Secours Hospital in Port Jervis, N.Y., where he was pronounced dead.

The chain of events began when one of the instructors signaled for Osterhoudt and his wife to surface, the Park Service said. The couple acknowledged the signal and began rising, but the current swept Osterhoudt away.

Park rangers are investigating the incident, which happened in Pike County, about 22 miles north of Stroudsburg.

Osterhoudt was a pharmacist for a Target store in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Frank Warner

Source

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