Scuba Diver Who Drowned Identified
A scuba diver who drowned off Santa Cruz Island has been identified as John D. Karaka, 39, of Reseda.
Karaka was pronounced dead on arrival at 1:27 p.m. Saturday at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, Ventura County Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said. Karaka apparently drowned after becoming tangled in kelp during a scuba-diving excursion to Channel Islands National Park.
Another diver involved in the accident, Jill Henderson, 26, of Woodland Hills, was flown by helicopter to the St. John’s emergency room, where she was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Henderson had also become entangled in a heavy bed of kelp and temporarily stopped breathing, but she revived after other divers pulled her out of the water. She suffered no physical injuries, the hospital spokeswoman said.
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