An Indian-American father of two who took his children to Panther Beach in Santa Cruz, California, for a day out ended up dead while trying to rescue one of his sons who was getting washed away by a big tide.
A Telugu man, Srinivasa Murthy Jonnalagadda, unfortunately, did not know how to swim. But when he saw that his 12-year-old son was hit by a huge wave and was trying to come out of the water, he went ahead to rescue him. That was when a riptide took him further into deeper waters.
Though Srinivasa was able to save his son with the help of another person, he himself was dragged further into the waters even as his family screamed and watched him drown. Emergency personnel rushed to the site and were able to bring Srinivasa out, after which CPR was done on him. He was taken in a California Patrol Helicopter and taken to the hospital.
However, once he arrived at Stanford Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. Srinivasa was rescued by members of multiple law enforcement agencies, including State Parks, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, and Santa Cruz Fire.
A GoFundMe page has been started for donations to bail out his family during such distressing times to meet funeral expenses, medical bills, and other unforeseen financial obligations.
