Authorities Monday publicly identified a 24-year-old tourist who drowned over the weekend during a nighttime swim in the ocean off the coast of Pacific Beach.
Kevin Dignan of Austin, Texas, suffered a cervical spinal fracture and sank into the water after he and a friend dove into the surf off the 700 block of Santa Rita Place about 3 a.m. Sunday, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Dignan’s companion and other friends socializing with them found the victim lying unconscious on the shore nearby, the agency reported. They tried to revive him prior to the arrival of paramedics, who took over the lifesaving attempts before pronouncing Dignan dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner.
An autopsy determined that Dignan drowned due to the blunt-force injuries he suffered while swimming.
City News Service contributed to this article.
