Lifeguard Duty Ends With Ocean Rescue

An Oxnard man who was overcome by strong riptides in a remote area off Silver Strand Beach was rescued from drowning Monday in the final hours of the summer lifeguarding season.

Alejandro Baez, 21, of Oxnard was saved by a team of harbor patrol officers and Ventura County lifeguards who pulled him from the surf and rushed him to St. John’s Regional Medical Center, authorities said.

“When we got to him, he had practically no vital signs,” said Tyler Wiggins, a county lifeguard who administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Baez. “He was nearly dead.”

Baez had swum about 100 yards from shore at the rocky south end of the beach when he was swept under by a riptide and lost consciousness, authorities said.

Wayne Gustafson, an officer with the Channel Islands Harbor Patrol, spotted Baez during a routine boat patrol. “He was very lucky we happened to be there,” Gustafson said.

Baez was listed in serious condition late Monday.

The rescue came on the last day this year that county lifeguards will patrol the beaches and at the end of the long Labor Day weekend, when residents flocked to the county’s beaches and roads.

Across the county, at least 22 people had been arrested for drunk driving by late Monday during a 78-hour maximum enforcement period that began at 6 p.m. Friday, authorities said. The enforcement period was set to end at midnight Monday.

California Highway Patrol officers arrested eight of those motorists by Sunday evening and apprehended the rest by early Monday morning. No arrests were made during the day Monday.

Last year, the CHP made a total of 45 drunk driving arrests, up from 39 in 1992.