Air Line Cut; Diver in Hospital

A diver was hospitalized after a passing boat’s propeller severed his air line while he was 35 feet below the surface off Treasure Island mobile home park in Laguna Beach on Sunday, officials said.

Thomas Riley, 45, of Sebastopol was in stable condition at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana after being treated for decompression sickness, known as the bends.

The illness occurs when divers surface too quickly.

The accident prompted the Orange County Harbor Patrol to warn boaters to watch for flags that indicate where divers are in the water.

In Sunday’s incident, the diver’s boat was flying the customary red flag with a white diagonal stripe.

“This is just a case where they are not familiar with the rules of coastal operation,” Harbor Patrol Sgt. Howard Mol said.

Riley was diving for sea urchins from a commercial boat. Weather conditions and visibility were good, Mol said, and there was no apparent reason why boaters in the area could not see Riley’s flag.

The pilot of the power boat that witnesses said cut Riley’s line might not have realized what happened, Mol said.

“Unless you hit a hard object on the water’s surface . . . you wouldn’t be aware of anything,” he said.

The incident was the second of its kind within a year, Mol said.

Nelson Dooley, president of the L.A. Fathomiers diving club, said divers are often at risk when they share waters with boaters.

“People need to take a little caution,” Dooley said. “It’s like driving a vehicle and there’s a pedestrian in the road. That’s us in the water.”