Death at the Beach: A Lifeguard's Worst Nightmare

ByABC News via logo
August 4, 2005, 3:10 PM

Aug. 5, 2005 — -- Jason Gassman watched silently from a kayak floating a few feet from the slippery rocks of the Second Avenue jetty at Bradley Beach, N.J., when rescuers brought the body of Doug Cueva-Morales to the surface of the water on the morning of Thursday, July 27, 1995.

Less than 24 hours had passed since the teenager slipped beneath the dark waters, but already the body was swollen and purplish, the arms and legs locked in rigor mortis. Gassman was struck by the look in the eyes, gruesomely exposed after fish had nibbled away at the eyelids along with the soft skin on the cheeks and belly.

It was the same look he had seen on the young man's face the day before during the last moments of his life -- a look of eerie resignation. It would haunt Gassman for years to come.

Like many who have come before and after him, Jason Gassman became a lifeguard because he thought the job would be fun. He grew up on the Jersey Shore and loved the ocean, the outdoors, and being active. He loved that there was a job that paid him for his passion.

But on a beautiful summer day in 1995, the job took a devastating turn when a swimmer drowned on his watch.

As an emergency medical technician and police officer, Gassman has seen death before. But for a reason he can't exactly explain, this one was different.

"Maybe it's because he was 20 feet away from me when he went down and I still remember seeing his face," Gassman said.

According to the United States National Lifesaving Association, open water lifeguards across the country made 50,232 rescues last year. There were 77 drownings at unguarded beaches, as well as 11 drownings when lifeguards were on duty.

Many lifeguards cannot imagine remaining at work if someone were to die on their watch. There are some who have been through the experience and never returned to the beach. But Gassman shared his story about how he carried on.

On July 26, 1995, Gassman, then 23, arrived at Second Avenue as usual, and met fellow lifeguards Jason Huhn and Cindy Hilldale up by the boardwalk. As always, they decided what duty each of them would carry out if there were a rescue that day, then headed down to the beach.