5 Swept Off Newport Jetty Saved by Boat Passengers

In a dramatic sundown rescue, pleasure boat passengers helped pull five drowning people to shore Sunday after storm-churned surf swept them off a jetty and washed them about 300 yards out to sea.

Hundreds of people had gathered on the narrow rock jetty throughout the afternoon and evening to watch waves as high as 16 feet, making an accident almost inevitable, Newport Beach Police Lt. Mike Jackson said.

The five victims--four men and one teenage boy--were swept off the rocks fully clothed about 7 p.m., said Jim Frelich, 45, of Huntington Beach, who jumped off his friend’s 28-foot power boat and pulled one of the men on board.

“We were going past the jetty, and all kinds of fisherman were screaming at us and pointing at us,” Frelich said. “I thought there was a shark out there.”

Frelich pulled one man to safety. He said the victim had lost consciousness and sunk more than 10 feet below the surface. Though untrained in emergency rescue techniques, Frelich said, he thought about what he had seen on the TV shows “Baywatch” and “ER”: He pounded on the man’s chest and blew in his mouth to revive him.

“They make it look a lot easier than it is,” he said.

Frelich’s friend and the boat’s skipper, Rick Jones of Huntington Beach, helped pull the others on board. They were met by a sheriff’s harbor patrol vessel, which towed them to shore with the injured on board.

Four of the victims were taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, and one was taken to Irvine Medical Center, Harbor Patrol Sgt. Paul Falk said.

“They were all conscious when they left here,” Falk said.

Capt. Todd Knipp of the Newport Beach Fire Department said the youngest victim, in his early teens, was considered a near-drowning and was in serious condition.

Waves gain height as they move along the rock jetty, culminating in a premier surf spot known as the Wedge where the jetty meets the sand.

Frelich described the scene as “a real carnival” all afternoon as hundreds gathered to watch bodysurfers try their luck. When Frelich decided to try it, he said, a lifeguard told him he could not go in the water without fins.

Instead, he and his friends opted for a short cruise around the bay to cap off the weekend and found themselves in the center of a potential tragedy.

After hearing the screams of onlookers, they spotted five people in the water, all about 30 feet apart. When Frelich saw one man go under, he stripped off his glasses and shoes and dived in.

“We thought we had lost him,” said Frelich, who owns a picture-framing business. “I could barely see him. I just gave him a big bear hug, and we went up to the surface.

“I just thank God that we were there and no one died tonight,” said Frelich, who had trouble getting back into the boat himself and thought for a moment that he might be the one to perish.

Newport Beach lifeguards rescued 148 people Sunday, far more than usual, and police warned people to stay away from the jetty.

“We’d been trying to get people off that jetty all night long,” Police Lt. Jackson said. “We’ve got an officer out there and have lifeguards trying to keep people off that rock jetty. We’re putting up barricades and yellow tape.

“Basically, we’re baby-sitting the jetty so people don’t get themselves killed.”