FAU student saves drowning man at South Beach Park
Junior biology major Nicole Farley was able to pull the man back to shore, but believes that Boca Raton Ocean Rescue did not do enough to ensure safety at the beach.
March 22, 2022
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on March 22 at 5:10 p.m. to more accurately report the incident.
What was supposed to be a relaxing day at the beach turned into a rescue mission when junior biology major Nicole Farley saved one man from drowning.
Farley, who works as a lifeguard at a pool, was with two friends when she spotted a man in distress on March 19 at South Beach Park in Boca Raton. She estimated his age to be between sixty and seventy years old.
According to Farley and her friends, Boca Raton Ocean Rescue lifeguards were unavailable to help the man while the incident unfolded.
“I think it was an act of God – It was insane,” said Farley. “We were delayed and then as soon as we went into the water [the incident] happened.”
Farley would not reveal information about the man or his medical condition, citing respect for his privacy.
Farley and her friends had planned to arrive earlier but got to the beach around 1:30 p.m. A few minutes later, she recalled witnessing an older man who seemed to be struggling to stay afloat.
At first, Farley was unsure of whether or not the man was in distress. She decided to take action a minute later when she heard a woman screaming for help.
“I heard her say to these two other college students next to me – they were two guys, ‘Oh my gosh can you please help my papi, please help him’… and she was pointing to the man who I saw earlier,” said Farley.
She swam to the man and began to pull him to shore when two other men swam out to assess the situation. After a minute of unsuccessfully attempting to swim back to shore, Farley said the men left without helping her.
After a few minutes of struggling, Farley was able to get the man back to shore. Once he was almost ashore, the lifeguards began to help.
“His lips were blue, he was cold,” said Farley.
Junior biology major Nakayla Washington, who was with Farley at the beach, gained the attention of the Boca Raton Ocean Rescue lifeguards after Farley was in the water attempting to help the man.
“The whole thing just happened so fast,” said Washington.
Farley feels that the lifeguards were not effectively making sure beachgoers were safe at the time of the incident.
“They were not paying attention at all. Nothing,” she said. The UP reached out to Boca Raton Ocean Rescue for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
According to Farley, the lifeguards did not take safety precautions until after the incident, deciding to put up a red flag warning beachgoers of dangerous conditions later.
The city of Boca Raton uses a red warning flag to notify beachgoers of “high surf and/or strong currents,” however, signs posted at the beach explaining the flags note that an “absence of flags does not assure safe waters.”
Farley also noted that the presence of the lifeguards was more apparent after the situation.
“It was definitely not enough,” she said.
Senior biology major Lindsey Rhoden, who was with Farley and Washington, expressed her admiration for her friend.
“She didn’t stop for one second to contemplate whether or not to save him, she just did it,” said Rhoden.
Justine Kantor is the News Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her @KantorJustine
John • Mar 26, 2022 at 2:55 pm
At that the top of BocaNewsNow.com they claim to provide “real journalism from real journalists.”Apparently they are oblivious to what real journalism is. This article is one of the worst pieces of so called “journalism” ever. What is described here is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and a complete fabrication of how the events unfolded that day. It doesn’t take much investigation to understand why that might be. Most of the content published on their website resembles that of a supermarket tabloid rather than a legitimate news source. One can deduce that this organization thrives on the controversial content algorithm with no intention of providing real journalism. Instead the site relies on click bait headlines and over the top exaggerations in a pathetic attempt to gain an audience while selling as many trash ads as they can wedge between the lines. All this is done at the expense of other people with no regard for the truth. My family and I were on the beach the day this incident took place. After reading the way it is being reported on this site I felt obligated to speak out. We were not too far away from where the man was pulled from the waters edge. We saw everything real time as it unfolded. We witnessed the man collapse near the shore from what appeared to be a medical condition, not a drowning. For reference high tide was a little before 10am that day. This incident took place around 1:45pm as it was approaching low tide. The first sandbar was completely exposed in some places. By taking a quick look at the local beach camera from that day you can confirm people were walking around in knee deep water 25 to 50 yards off shore. This is well past where the man collapsed, and well past where the author claims his source, a student “without ocean rescue training,” “decided to take action,” “thrusting her 5’1” body into water much deeper.” At that time the tide was low enough that even a person standing at 5’1” would have had no issue walking 100 yards off shore without ever being in deep water or water that was over their head. As soon as people began yelling for help we watched as a Boca Lifeguard immediately sprang into action. She appeared to have seen the man collapse at the same time as others nearby but took longer to get to him because she was much farther away. Nevertheless we watched as she ran through the crowds on the beach into the shallow water and then began pulling the man up onto the shoreline with the assistance of what I now assume was Ms. Farley. Moments later 3 other Boca lifeguards arrived on the scene where they all began caring for the man until the paramedics arrived. The Boca lifeguards did an amazing job. They deserve to be commended for their service, not shamed because some two bit “journalist” doesn’t understand their job. I also commend Ms. Farley for her role in the rescue. However, without the Boca lifeguards it is unlikely this man would have survived; even with Ms. Farley’s efforts. To say this article does not come close to giving an accurate account of the rescue that day would be an understatement.