Overview
- Two teenagers were caught in a rip current near Beach 84th Street on Sunday, Aug. 9, and lifeguards and FDNY swimmers pulled both from the water but 17-year-old Sir Audley Sykes was later pronounced dead at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital.
- Sykes’s mother says he told rescuers to save his best friend first as lifeguards raced into the surf from nearby stations after official swimming hours had ended.
- Lifeguards were not in their chairs at the time because city beaches are officially staffed for swimming from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., though policy allows lifeguards to remain in stations until 8 p.m. when a heat advisory is in effect.
- The family has launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral and counseling costs and had raised $9,800 of an $18,000 goal at the time of reporting.
- Rockaway Beach is known for hazardous rip currents, the FDNY ran public-safety outreach there in late July, and the case could prompt renewed attention to after-hours rescues and how city agencies handle extended coverage.